Decade
by Caremel
Summary: Future fic. It's the ten year anniversary of Lilly's death and Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both have ended up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V.
1. An Anniversary

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,019**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: This is my first Veronica Mars fic. PLEASE give me feedback, as I live off of it. If you like, review, if you don't, review. I am planning to write more of this story, but if no one reviews, I will be rather discouraged. Enjoy.**

The buildings were sharply delineated against the sky's clear, sharp blue. Not a wisp of white marred its bright perfection. The trees were reveling in the newfound glory of fall, the leaves pooling by their feet.

Veronica had grown to love the slight chill and the golden leaves of autumn in Manhattan, so different from her native Neptune, CA. She was out photographing the windblown leaves in Riverside Park in the heady glow of mid-afternoon. Being behind a camera allowed her to be an observer only, protected from the world by the layers of glass and distortion of her lens. She was doing quite well as a freelance photographer, but these photos weren't for a job. Veronica was thinking of assembling some photos for an exhibition on seasons, and today had seem the epitome of fall's glory, the beginning of summer's decease. Most of all, it gave her something to occupy and distract herself with.

_Veronica had had a well-received show in a Chelsea gallery a little more than a year before. Since she'd been employed quite constantly and her name had gradually become reasonably well known in certain circles. At least V. Reynolds had. In a town and with a job where she was so often Googled, the fact that the first hit was a headline that read "Teenage Detective Testifies Against Aaron Echolls; Defense Says She Propositioned Him" with the rest of the links along the same lines made the name Veronica Mars a bit of a liability. A fresh start was all she wanted; a new name let her avoid unwanted and uncomfortable questions about a past she wanted to move beyond._

_Besides, her mother had died in a car accident the year after she graduated college; the adoption of the name Reynolds seemed a type of absolution. Veronica had seen her mother in the audience at her graduation, but she had left before Veronica could speak to her. When Lianne was gone, Veronica allowed herself to love her. She used the "Reynolds" as a posthumous sign of forgiveness. _

Remembering her dentist appointment, Veronica looked at her watch and rushed to catch the 1 train downtown. She hated being late. _They always make you wait anyway, _she thought, _Dentists just like making you suffer._

She burst into the waiting room and gave the assistant her name. "Could you wait, please," the woman said inevitably. Veronica grabbed the new November issue of Layers Magazine that she had brought with her.

Even engrossed as she was in a review of a new noise-reduction program, she couldn't help but notice the two girls who entered the office soon after she did. _Seriously, who goes to the dentist together? Oh, I forgot, some girls can't even go to the bathroom alone._ Veronica rolled her eyes at them. They turned on the TV in the corner of the waiting room and sat on the chairs next to Veronica so they could see the screen. She saw out of the corner pf her eye that it was the "Tyra Banks Show". She tuned them out and concentrated on her magazine. _Filters. Layers. CMYK. Logan Echolls. What?_

Her head shot up as she heard the TV say, "… is Logan Echolls, with costar and girlfriend Olivia Gleeson." She saw the surreally large, smiling face of her sometime friend, sometime enemy and sometime boyfriend.

Her first instinct was to march over switch it off, but her innate curiosity and newly acquired self control kept her in her seat and watching the screen closely.

She saw him sitting on the couch, holding the hand of the woman to his left. _Petite and blonde_. She almost laughed to herself. _She's just his type!_ She watched him smile easily and field questions about his new movie ("It's really about a guy trying to find himself when he is suddenly and completely alone in the world. Plus a bunch of giant robots, a time machine and AK-47s.), how much he works out ("A lot. You don't get these rock hard abs for nothing!"), his father ("He died a long time ago. I don't like to talk about it.") and, finally, his love life. The blonde stuck out her hand smiling and Veronica saw the glint of stage lights on diamond. The crowd gasped and Tyra practically squealed as Olivia explained that they had gotten engaged last week when they were in Hawaii. "Isn't this soon to be getting engaged?" Tyra voiced the question that Veronica herself wanted to ask. "If you know what you want, it's never too soon," Logan said, wrapping his arm around his fiancée's shoulders.

"Oh god, I wish _I_ were his girlfriend," one of the girls who had turned on the TV said to her companion. "He is _so_ hot," the other agreed, sighing. Veronica glared at them.

_He looks so happy,_ she thought, _It's strange._

"Ms. Reynolds?" The dentist's assistant interrupted her thoughts to call her for her appointment. As her teeth were cleaned, she couldn't help thinking about this newly remembered specter of her past.

_She had kept him out of her head for so long. Of course, she saw news about him in the tabloids from time to time, but it was easier for her to just pretend that this was a different Logan than the one she had known. Plus, she wasn't exactly Us Weekly's most likely subscriber or any of the other magazines of the same ilk. As a rule she tried to avoid his movies, but she saw one on a plane once. She had cried at the end, even though the two protagonists had survived the alien attack and were going to live happily ever after. She didn't know why exactly; she didn't cry very often._

She left the dentist's office through the revolving doors, buttoning up her light fall jacket against the breeze. She walked rapidly towards the subway station, feeling in her pocket for her Metrocard.

_It was four years since she had seen him last. At Hearst College graduation he had kissed her on the cheek, and said, "You'll have a great life, Veronica. You don't need me around to mess things up". The next morning, when she went to the apartment he had rented after sophomore year, Dick said, "He left for L.A. last night. I guess he didn't tell you, huh. Well, see you. I'm gonna be moving soon too, because I've heard there are mad hot chicks in L.A., just waiting for the Dickster. I bet Logan left early so he could get a head start." Dick had graduated with a degree in Economics, but Veronica wondered whether that would ever be put to good use. Or any use._

_After freshman year, Logan and Veronica had gotten back together. While being at Quantico, Veronica had learned two things: she didn't want to join the FBI and that Piz and she could not weather a summer apart. The FBI had been a bureaucratic hell, full of people who preferred mediocrity to super-competency, preferring always to see themselves as the smartest one in the room. Veronica was also a little too used to dealing with her problems outside the constraints of the law to fit right in. As for Piz, he couldn't deal with the distance and Veronica couldn't let herself help him deal. When she and Piz broke up, it seemed natural that she and Logan would start spending more time together as Gorya Sorokin's threat hung over his head; there was something about the peril of impending danger that seemed to be a catalyst in their relationship. After working with her dad and the FBI, Veronica had managed to put most of the Sorokin clan in jail and incidentally prevented Logan from being murdered. After they had stopped working together for a common cause, the fights had started again. Both said things that were unforgivable; they had angrily decided to go their separate ways, both looking for a little peace and quiet. _

Veronica turned the key to her apartment and greeted her overenthusiastic Jack Russell terrier with a smile and a tummy scratch. Her phone rang, and the caller ID read "Keith".

"Hey, Dad."

"Veronica. How are you?"

"Fine, fine. You?"

"I'm good."

"Why are you calling?"

"I just want to check up on you. I am your father you know."

"Okay, Dad. That's nice."

"And you know how you get sometimes at this time of year."

"Okay, I'm fine. Really."

"That's all I needed to know. Alicia is coming by for some pot roast, so I've got to go prepare that. We'll talk soon."

"Yes, Dad. Bye"

"Bye, honey."

She replaced the phone on the receiver and sighed. _This time of year. Nice euphemism, Dad._

There was a blinking light on the answering machine and she listened to her two messages. "Hey Veronica, it's Wallace, I'm just calling because I think I left a shirt at your house when I stayed with you last week. If you could please ship it back to Neptune, because it's one of my favorites. Thanks and I miss you. Talk to you soon." Veronica smiled just hearing his voice and tried to remember where his shirt could be. "Hey, V, it's Norm from Vanity Fair. Annie just canceled on us and our cover is finicky. His agent demanded new talent and options. Call me if you are free Wednesday, because if you are I'm putting your portfolio in. I know you don't usually do celebs, but you're good, and not so much of an artist that money doesn't talk. If you're picked it would look great on your resume. Bye, and don't forget to give me a call at 212-437-0303." She dialed the number. "Hey, Norm, it's V. Reynolds. . .Yes, Wednesday works fine. . . Good to know. See ya."

She went to the fridge to get out some salad for dinner. She sat down in front of her computer, reading her emails and eating her salad at the same time. For several hours, she clicked through her photos from that morning, marking the best ones and making a few adjustments with Photoshop. This didn't take up quite enough of her brain, as her thoughts, uncontrolled, turned back to Logan.

_Senior year, they had run into one another on the anniversary of Lilly's death. Too much alcohol and reminiscing and too little inhibition had led to Veronica waking up in Logan's bed, with a pounding headache and an unfortunately complete memory of the night before. She had left him lying there asleep. Two weeks later, Veronica found she was pregnant. After a week of sleepless nights, she decided to get an abortion. No one but Wallace and Mac knew about that, and certainly not Logan. After that, she had managed to avoid him, tidily packing away all those unidentifiable feelings she could only classify as "Logan". She had put him out of her life and out of her conscious thought; she couldn't control her dreams. And suddenly, Logan had infiltrated her thoughts again._

_And on this day of all days_, she thought, _Naturally._

Veronica looked at the windows of the building she could see outside her window. She tried to count the lights of the few people still awake, but stopped to fetch her half-drunk bottle of wine.

She poured herself a slow glass of Cabernet and raised it in salute. "I love you, Lilly, as always," she whispered, draining her glass. She sat staring out of the window, unseeing, tears just hovering, not yet ready to fall.

Further downtown, someone else was mirroring her actions, albeit in a SoHo loft with a bottle of Jack Daniels. "It's been ten fucking years, Lill. And I still miss you."

He drained the bottle, tossed it so it clattered into the recycling bin, and climbed into bed next to his sleeping fiancée. He lay staring at the ceiling as a passing siren wailed by and the laughter of some girls and the tapping of their heels floated up to him. He turned over, covered his head with a pillow and dared himself to fall asleep.

**Yeah, so review, please! I should come out with a second chapter within the next week.**


	2. Shoot Me

Logan Echolls scowled

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,017**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: THANK YOU to all my amazing reviewers. You are the reason this is out at all, and quite fast if I do say so myself. Again, I would love some more because it's a bit addictive.**

Logan Echolls scowled. He was annoyed and a little hung-over. He closed his eyes. The rat-like face of Joe, his manager, was not what he liked seeing at 10:30 in the morning, but apparently it was an "emergency". October 4th was never a day when Logan liked hearing about faux-emergencies. He opened his eyes again and heard Olivia asking, "So, what is this emergency?"

"Well, there's been a problem with the Vanity Fair shoot," Joe said apologetically, "The photographer we were supposed to have had to cancel for some personal reasons. I got the magazine to send over the portfolios of some other choices. You two need to look at the portfolios and choose someone by noon. I need to tell them and you've got a lot of stuff already planned for this afternoon." He indicated the pile of folders on his desk.

Olivia picked up the first pile and handed Logan the second. "Sweetie, just mark the ones you like with a post-it, okay? This shouldn't take too long. I'll do the same and then we can switch."

Logan flipped through the portfolios nonchalantly, glancing at the photos only briefly. Then one caught his eye; he stopped at the photo of two men in a standing in a fountain at night. The water was lit up like a halo around the dark, indefinite figures and the effect was as ethereal as it was surreal. He flipped back looking carefully at each of the photos in the same portfolio. He handed it to Olivia, saying, "I like this one. What do you think?"

She looked carefully at the portraits and photos that were related to what they wanted. They were good, she would admit that. Olivia would have preferred to look through all the folders very carefully, but she knew that Logan was as restless and stubborn as a little boy and when he liked something, he had to have it. "This looks great, sweetie. We'll get this—" she checked the spine of the folder, "—this V. Reynolds guy."

She kissed him lightly on the lips as Joe was already dialing the magazine.

"So I guessed even this celebrity had the good taste to appreciate my work," Veronica said as she entered the studio and greeted Norm with two air-kisses. "That's pretty shocking."

"Well, maybe he can just tell you're going to be a big hit like I can," Norm said smiling. "No time for chatting, though, they're arriving soon and we have so much shit to do."

"Wait, I don't even know who I'm shooting today. I mean, I might have to imdb them just so we have something to talk about."

"Well, he's famous enough you probably won't have to imdb him. And a hottie, so this is your lucky day. It's Logan Echolls. And we're going to put his fiancée Olivia Gleeson in a few as well."

Veronica froze. She felt almost lightheaded with shock. "Logan Echolls?" _Why am I even surprised? This would be my kind of luck._

"Yeah, Logan Echolls." He noticed her strange expression, confused. "Don't tell me that you're going to get all fan girl on me and that you can't possibly work with that hunk of manhood because he makes you go all gooey inside and that you're just _so_ excited to meet him."

Veronica let out a strangled laugh at this suggestion. Norm looked a little alarmed. "Seriously, V, what is it? It's kind of late for me to get a new photographer…"

Veronica shook her head, partly to say no to Norm and partly as an attempt to rearrange whatever was in there. "No, no, it's really, um, fine. It's just that I know him… We went to high school together. It's just a strange coincidence, that's all." _When I phrase it like that it sounds perfectly innocuous. Good job, Veronica._

Norm still looked at her oddly. "You went to high school with Logan Echolls, Hollywood's current Big Thing and you never mentioned it?" Veronica shrugged. "Okay, whatever, we have a lot of stuff to do and no time for digging into your past. Let's do this thing. Maybe you and Logan can reminisce afterwards, hmm?"

Veronica nodded distractedly and they both started getting the lights and props set up. She was almost so busy that she forgot whom they were expecting. Until she heard a voice behind her.

"Hi, I'm Logan Echolls," she heard a familiar voice introducing himself to Norm. "And this is my fiancée, Olivia."

Veronica turned around slowly, steeling herself for the meeting. Logan was turned away still talking to Norm. Veronica walked over to Olivia, smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm V. Reynolds, your photographer." Olivia shook the offered hand, smiled back and said, "Olivia Gleeson. Nice to meet you."

At the first sound of Veronica's voice, Logan's head had whipped round. Dumbstruck, all he said was, "Veronica."

Veronica couldn't help smirking at his look of complete shock. _I guess forewarned is forearmed alright._ "Hi, Logan," she replied as calmly as she could.

He repeated her name again, sounding like he couldn't believe he was saying. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

By this point, Norm and Olivia were staring at them speechless. A couple of the makeup and hair people were inching over to hear as well. "I'm your photographer," Veronica said lightly. Just keeping control of herself enough to respond to Logan calmly kept her occupied enough to ignore the fact that the two of them were in the same room for the first time in four years.

Logan looked puzzled. "But I thought the photographer was V. Reynolds."

"Yup," Veronica took a business card out of her pocket and handed it to him, "V. Reynolds. That's me."

Logan looked at the card like it was an object from an alien civilization. "But… wait, is Reynolds your _married_ name?"

Veronica wanted to snark at him for saying the word married with such disbelief. _So I guess he can't imagine anyone wanting to marry me. Charming. _She was trying very hard to be the professional one though. "No," she said shortly, "I use it professionally." Logan looked like he was going to ask some more questions, but Veronica cut him off, "I think it's time for you two to go to hair and makeup."

As Olivia led Logan away, she asked him sharply, "How do you know her?" He answered distractedly, "We went to high school together. We used to be friends. A long time ago."

Forty minutes later, Logan and Veronica came face to face once again. They were going to do Logan alone first and then Olivia and Logan together for the "romance" portion of the story. He stood awkwardly on the plain set, plainly discomfited. He didn't meet Veronica's eyes.

Veronica sighed. _Oh God, Logan, can't you just be a professional and do your job so I can do mine? Please?_ She walked over to him so they could talk without being overheard. She touched him lightly on the arm. He started slightly when she touched him and she, too, felt a strange wave of emotion. _So I guess he actually is real. Surprise, surprise._ "Logan," she said in a tone meant to remind him to snap out of it and get to work.

"My dear Veronica," he said theatrically, doffing an invisible hat, "I am entirely at your service. I'm sure you missed the Echolls' family charm."

Even with the jab intended in his last line, Veronica knew this Logan and that it was one she could work with, however annoying. He sat in his chair backwards, trying to outstare Veronica's camera. Veronica snapped away, feeling his almost magnetic stare on her always. She directed and he changed position, expression, costume. However, she couldn't get a smile out of him as hard as she tried; only that classically arrogant "Logan Echolls" smirk and a tight-lipped smile so sad it hardly qualified.

Then he saw Olivia enter and his face became one giant smile. _Click, click, click, click. Veronica, remember when you were the one who made him look so joyous? Remember?_ Veronica was trying as hard as she could to quash the memories and the emotions that went with them. _Professional. Job. Client. Those are the watchwords. _As she watched him give Olivia a quick kiss on the lips, her stomach turned over _professionally_. Luckily her hands were more under her control than her stomach and got the shot. _Two people in love. How sweet._

If that first shot was like shoving her hand into ice-cold water, for the next hour she had to look so closely as they posed _lovingly_ together that it was as if the immersion let her almost forget that she was freezing to death at all. _I'm sure I'm feeling as any single ex-girlfriend would feel when having to see her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, scratch that, fiancée cuddle for hours. Actually, I'm sure any human would feel ill faced with so much unattainable happiness. God, when did I get to be such a misanthrope? Oh, right, I remember, it was when my best friend died, I got raped and Logan made my life hell. And you thought you'd moved past that, Veronica._

The shoot ended at some point, far after all of its participants wished it would. She shook Olivia's hand goodbye, but somehow Logan had managed to miss saying goodbye to Veronica at all. As everyone was wrapping up, exhausted, she watched Logan's back as he left, his arm wrapped around Olivia. When he finally disappeared, she let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding. _Goodbye, Logan. Another surreal chapter finished in our strange saga. Have a nice life with Olivia; I'm sure you'll be perfectly happy. And I will continue my beautifully Logan-less life exactly as it was before. Even now I can barely remember what it was like with him here. Thankfully everything seems to be going back to normal._

On her subway ride uptown, she thought about what she was going to have for dinner, her plans for next week, whether she should make plans for Halloween, what she should send Mac for her birthday and when she would have time to go down to see her friend Jerome's show in Chelsea. Anything and everything utterly mundane. Veronica was almost smiling when she got out at her stop and walked towards the exit, until she saw Logan Echolls' eyes staring right at her. They had just put up a new poster for "Fight or Flight" starring Logan Echolls and Olivia Gleeson in the subway station. Veronica groaned. _This is exactly what I need._

Logan and Olivia were getting driven downtown to their loft but had hit gridlock due to an inexplicable garbage truck that was taking up the whole street. Olivia looked at Logan who was being uncharacteristically quiet. "So, Logan, who is this Veronica girl anyway? You just went to high school together? That can't be all."

"Yeah. And college. That's all there is to know," Logan said curtly, sounding exasperated. Olivia knew that was all she would get from him. She got her Blackberry out of her purse and scrolled through new emails. Then she turned it so Logan couldn't see the screen, typing in "Logan Echolls" and "Veronica" into Google and pressing search.

Logan was tired. He needed distraction. He fished in his pocket for his iPod and came upon a white paperboard rectangle. He looked at it surprised, reading the words slowly:

_V. Reynolds_

_Freelance Photography_

_917.756.1229_

Logan tucked the business card in his wallet, carefully behind his platinum AmEx. He turned up the car's air conditioning to high, closed his eyes, and put in his iPod.

_I talk to you as to a friend  
I hope that's what you've come to be  
It feels as though we've made amends  
Like we found a way eventually_

It was you who picked the pieces up  
When I was a broken soul  
And then glued me back together  
Returned to me what others stole

**To be continued…**

**FYI: The song quoted at the end is "Sway", by the Perishers.**

**Remember, review!**


	3. Holivia

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language, a little bit of subject matter.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,535**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: I never knew I could work so fast until I got your amazing reviews. Thank you. I hope you enjoy and there will be some L/V soon, I promise!**

_Veronica felt Logan's hands gently caressing her back. Her lips were locked with his for what she wished could be forever and when she came up for breath, he started kissing her neck, her collarbone, her shoulder. Her hands moved up and down his scar-covered back and she felt at home. "Oh, Logan," she murmured softly. She looked up to see Olivia standing beside the bed. "Mind if I join?" she said cheerily, pulling Logan away from Veronica and up to her face. Watching them kiss made Veronica feel like there was loud, constant beeping going on in her head._

Veronica sat bolt upright. She hit the off button on her alarm which was blinking "8:00:39 AM". It was five days since what she liked to think of as "The Photo Shoot of Doom" and more importantly, six nights. Every day since then she had managed to live her life normally, utterly unaware of any and all ex-boyfriends, especially those in the acting profession. But every night it was like the visit of the Ghost of Make-Outs Past, who was haunting her with a vengeance. She also had the pleasure of hosting a rotating cast of characters other than Logan and herself, including Parker Lee, Madison Sinclair, Duncan Kane and, of course, Olivia. In true Veronica fashion, when she couldn't rationalize it away, she ignored it. At least until her head hit her pillow once again.

Veronica felt bleary, badly-rested and irritated. This Logan-Veronica tape was getting old and pointless. _The likeliness of us even being in the same room again is slim. Seriously, subconscious, this material is so ancient that it in no way applies to my life anymore. I don't even want it to. Get with the picture. _

She walked out to the nearest Starbucks so that she could at least seem halfway awake when she met Jerome at the gallery that was showing his work so he could give her the "tour". After she got her coffee, she saw she had a little extra time and sat at a table to drink it. The previous patron had left an AM New York newspaper on the table. She had nothing else to do so she turned it over, and was going do the sudoku when she saw the cover headline:

HO-LIVIA'S SEX TAPE SCANDAL

And a little below, in slightly smaller font:

WILL LOGAN END IT?

Veronica spat out her hot coffee and felt very, very dizzy.

* * *

_28 hours earlier_

Logan's phone rang insistently. He had been sleeping quite soundly until its shrill chime had disturbed him. Olivia was out of town visiting her parents in New Jersey. They were going to talk about the wedding or something. The phone started ringing again. Logan contemplated leaving it, but decided that if he was already up, he might as well find out who it might be at this ungodly hour. "Hello?" Logan said, grouchily.

"Hi, Logan," his manager's voice sounded falsely calm, "We have to talk. I'm coming over right now. Get dressed and let me in when I show up. It's important."

Logan was still a bit fuzzy. "Joe? What could be such a big problem at—" he looked at his watch, "4:00 in the morning."

"Look, you'll find out when I arrive. If anyone from the press calls, DO NOT talk to them." Joe hung up, leaving Logan utterly confused. He did as his manager said though and stuck on a t-shirt and jeans. No one called, thankfully, so Logan was left sitting on his bed idly when his doorbell rang. He let in his harried-looking manager and they both went over to sit on the couch.

"Logan, there's something I have to tell you," Joe started, reluctantly.

"Seriously, cut the dramatics and out with it. Suspense does not make it more exciting when you visit this early in the morning, sorry."

"Yeah, well, I have to tell you know because it'll hit blogs today and mainstream news tomorrow." He sighed and looked at Logan in the eye. "There's a tape. A tape of Olivia. She's… she's having sex with Connor Larkin."

Logan let out a cry of mirthless laughter. Joe looked at him, shocked. "Should I be surprised? Seriously, what is it about the girls I love that they have to be caught on tape fooling around with other men? My god, it must be catching! A perfect record so far." He swallowed as he thought, _Lilly and Aaron. Veronica and Piz. And now Olivia. Beautiful. _"So, my dear Joseph, please enlighten me on one point: was this major motion picture shot before or after she and I were the perfect Hollywood couple?"

Joe looked miserable. "Well," he said gesturing to his head, "her hair, it's, well, it's short." Joe blushed as he saw Logan realize he could only know that if he had watched the tape. Logan knew what the significance of the hair was, too, and clenched his fists. Two weeks after he and Olivia had become a couple, she had cut her hair for her part. She'd kept it short since then and he had said he thought it was cute. Logan felt revolted.

"You have a copy," he said coldly. Joe handed over a disc he grabbed from his bag. "But, of course," Logan said with false lightness, "I'm sure I could find it online too!"

Joe just gave him a look. Logan hoped it wasn't pity that he could see in his eyes, but he tried not to care. Joe knew this was his cue to leave and let himself out. Logan just sat there, unmoving, turning the disc over in his hands.

_If only I hadn't erased those Lilly tapes_, he thought bitterly, _I could have a file on my computer specifically for the sex tapes of my girlfriends. My own personal hobby; not stamps or coins, but my girlfriends getting it on with other guys!_

Logan walked unsteadily over to the computer and stuck the disc into the slot. He double-clicked to start it without hesitation. It started with two people he knew well kissing furiously on a bed. Logan's brain felt like it was shutting down as he watched someone he thought he loved moaning the name of another guy, a guy who was his friend, at least in name only.

When the blonde head came up and winked at the camera, Logan snapped the laptop shut with a snap. He walked to his fridge and got out the first alcoholic beverage he could get his hands on. He knew there was reason he kept vodka in there. Logan's phone was ringing nonstop. He pulled it out of the wall. All he knew now was that he was going to get incredibly drunk.

* * *

Logan woke up several hours later when there was a pounding on his front door. From the light streaming in the window it seemed to be afternoon. He still felt a little drunk and didn't bother to open it. The door flew open anyway.

Logan got out of bed, still in his clothes from the night before, to see Olivia entering the room. It wasn't quite what he expected, but he took the surprise in stride. "Olivia, my dear, what a lovely surprise having you back so early! How are your parents?" Logan's words came out a little slurred and very sarcastic.

Olivia's face was blotchy and tearstained. "Logan," she said pleadingly, "Logan, can we please talk about this?"

"What's to talk about? I get it. I wasn't quite enough for you in the bedroom, so you decided Connor would help you out there. And then you thought you'd tape it so you could demonstrate to me my own inadequacies. I hope I'm not neglecting a possible motive. Please, I'd love you to fill me in. Don't leave out any details. Luckily, if you do, I can always compare it to the actual tape."

"Logan, it wasn't supposed to happen like this…"

He interrupted. "Oh, you mean the whole world wasn't supposed to know you were a lying, cheating whore? Or I wasn't supposed to find out? Whoops, I guess that _probably_ wasn't part of your plan, but you know, what the hell."

"Oh, and you're definitely Mr. Honesty?" Olivia snapped at him, suddenly angry.

"And what have _I_ done?" Logan sneered at her. "Don't tell me; I made a sex tape of myself cheating on you and somehow everyone in the world is watching it right now. Oh, wait that's YOU."

Olivia laughed harshly. "Well, first let's talk about Veronica Mars, why don't we. Ever since that photo shoot you've been mooning about, not your usual self at all, totally out of it. I asked you about it and you gave me nothing. Nothing except you went to school together. And then it turns out that when you went to high school and college together, you were boyfriend and girlfriend, that she was with you when you went on trial for murder, she was the one who solved the case of the murder of your girlfriend, Lilly Kane and you two both saw that Cassidy kid kill himself. Seems like she may have been a pretty integral part of your life, one which you seem to have never mentioned. Oh, and she testified at your dad's trial—"

"Don't mention that bastard," Logan hissed, menacingly.

"That bastard? That's funny, but that's all I know him as. The famous Aaron Echolls and I've never gotten more than that single word about him. In the two years we've been going out, you've never thought to mention why you have that opinion of him, or where the scars on your back come from. Or why you get plastered every year on October 3rd, you hate bridges and pears, or why you hang out with an asshole like Dick Casablancas at all. Or why you don't talk to your sister Trina. Everything I know about your life before I met you comes from the tabloids. Does that sound like a healthy relationship to you?"

Logan glared. "I guess I don't know anything about your life _since_ our relationship started. When were you planning to tell me what was going on between you and Connor. I guess it didn't seem worth mentioning when I PROPOSED to you. Maybe our wedding day would have been good for you. Get your hooks into the old fortune first. I can't figure out whether it was that or the fame that kept you sticking to this "unhealthy" relationship."

"I cared about you Logan!" Olivia looked into his eyes searchingly.

"Yeah, well way to show it." Logan stared at her coldly. "I trust you know the way to the door. You know, the rectangle with the knob on it." He gestured grandly to the exit.

She turned around when she was halfway out the door and said, "There are billions of paparazzi camping out downstairs. I just thought you should know."

"Thank you, sweetpea! You're always looking out for my best interests." Logan swept her a gracious bow as she slammed the door shut.

Logan collapsed in a chair, exhausted. He massaged his head and closed his eyes. _What I really need is a stiff drink_, he thought.

Soon he was passed out on his bed once again, a few more empty bottles by his side.

He woke up once again about the same time that Veronica was reading the headline in Starbucks. He felt groggy and confused, not having left his apartment for a couple days or so. He headed to the bathroom for some Advil. Lots of Advil. He didn't know what he was doing or what he should be doing. He felt like he had woken up in a familiar and horribly uncomfortable world where he was superfluous. He looked out the window to see the paparazzi still camped out down below. He knew the first one to cross his path was going to have a rather bad time. He wasn't looking forward to it exactly, but he wouldn't mind a little tussle. _Boy, Joe would be pissed._

He knew he didn't want to be alone anymore. He hated being alone, but he didn't know whom to call. He scrolled through his phone, looking the numerous names of people he could care less about. As he scrolled and came to potential confidantes, he gave a little commentary. "Connor, we're going to have a conversation, but it's going to be between my fist and his face… Dick, he's in LA still and probably still asleep… Joe, I pay him, he has to talk to me… Mac, I haven't really heard from her in a couple of years… Madison, somehow I don't need another slut right now… Parker, probably not interested… Piz, I don't even know why I have his number… Trina, she always loves to hear from her baby brother… Wallace, he's really Veronica's friend." There was no one.

_God, what's wrong with me_, he thought, _All alone again_. And then he thought of the one person he hadn't thought of and swore he wouldn't think of. He got out a small, white business card from his wallet and looked at it.

He had taken it out several times since it had been given to him and just gazed at it. The corners were a little worn already. He got out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number quickly, before he could change his mind.

The phone rang once. Twice. Logan pressed "end call". He couldn't do it. Perhaps being alone was better than Veronica potentially picking up. And any conversation that might begin from there.

He called Dick and left a message, "Hey man, it's Logan. I'm sure you know what's going on. Call me back and try not to be skeevy. Are you coming to New York soon?"

He hung up and looked around for something to do. He turned up his music very loud and called for delivery from the local pizza place. It would entertain him to watch the pizza boy trying to wend his way through the paparazzi. Logan cracked open a beer and noticed his liquor supply was low, especially if it was supposed to last him a couple more days. _Maybe I need a shopping list. Or a personal shopper. If only I could get out of here._

_And had somewhere to go. Or someone to go with._

* * *

Veronica made it back to her apartment without incident. She canceled her appointment for "personal reasons. Don't ask". She had read the article in the newspaper in its entirety and all she could do now was go on her computer and see if there were any new developments reported on. She saw a link to the video, but she didn't click, she couldn't. She knew all too well how Olivia would be feeling; it was Logan, however, who she was reluctantly worried about. _Oh God, Logan, not again. I bet you thought you had a shot at happiness only to be fucked over once again. Story of our lives, huh?_

She didn't notice her phone vibrating in her bag and a missed call left from an unknown number.

**You know the drill. Please review. What's good, what's bad? I want to know. Thanks for reading!**


	4. In Transit

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,204**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: Sorry this isn't as fast as the others, but unfortunately, I do have to work. Enjoy, and reviewers, I love you. Almost as much as Logan and Veronica love each other.**

**A/N 2: Okay, there are a couple of reviews that were unsigned that I want to address. **_**Ruhe**_**- Olivia looked up Veronica and Logan after the photo shoot. In articles about the trial, etc., where both of their names would come up, she would be called "Veronica Mars". At least, that's how it was working in my head, but it was probably kind of unclear. Sorry! **_**Thelma**_**- Technically, Logan and Lilly were not together when she slept with Aaron. Remember they broke up after Veronica saw him kissing Yolanda. I don't think Veronica/Piz hurt nearly as much of course, but was hardly pleasant and added to the theme. **

It was several hours before Veronica even looked at her phone. A missed call from an unknown number did not surprise her; she often received calls from potential employers about her work. She was surprised they whoever had called hadn't left message though. _No matter_, she thought, pressing the button to call back. She heard it ring thrice before there was a groggy, "Hello?"

"Hi," Veronica said in a peppy phone voice learned in her receptionist days, "This is V. Reynolds and I'm returning your call. I'm a—"

"Veronica!" the male voice cut in with a combination of surprise, pleasure and a very familiar undertone of melancholy. _And alcohol, unsurprisingly_.

"Logan?" The voice was now, of course, unmistakable. "Why did you call me?" _Way to ask the nonessential question, Veronica._ _A gift, you have, as Yoda would say. _

"Well, I do like to check if exes are available right after I break up, just so I know that I have options…" There was a pause and she heard a swallow. "You and the rest of the world know the whole story of course. And, well, there's really no one else, you know?"

His matter-of-fact cheeriness chilled Veronica. "Are you okay?" Even before she said it she knew the pure inadequacy and futility of the question. _Of course he's not okay._

He responded exactly as Veronica knew he would. "Oh yes, simply dandy, Veronica. Seldom been better. You know little old me; I'm a trooper! It's really nothing I haven't survived before, though. I mean, I _have_ been technically cheated on and everyone in the world knows, but on the positive side, at least daddy dearest is already dead this time. You know, I think I'm growing. I haven't even beaten anyone up yet, mistakenly or otherwise!"

_Except yourself_, Veronica thought, knowing just how well Logan could be expected to deal with his problems. _Sometimes it's hard to believe you're still standing_. "Are you alone, Logan?"

"Naturally, my dear." His words were a little slurred. "My manager, Joe, stopped in for a while, but then he got busy. Or it was the smell. I can't say for sure."

Veronica made up her mind. _Desperate times call for desperate measures. When your ex-boyfriend seems like he might be on suicide watch it may be time to reconsider some of the "no contact" rules._ "Logan, I'm coming over. Your address please."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, sweetiekins."

"Why?" When Veronica decided something, she didn't like anyone trying to change her mind.

"Hmm, well, someone of your petite size and stature might get crushed by the big bad paparazzi that seem to have made a lovely shanty town outside my building."

Veronica had forgotten about that. It wasn't like how it used to be. There was always a bit of publicity, but now he was a big movie star. Veronica knew she at least didn't particularly want everyone in the world to know if she visited Logan. _Why does he have to be an actor? I had thought that he hated the attention, the lack of privacy. And then here he is following in Aaron's footsteps?_ "Logan, do you think you can come here without being followed or found?"

"Well, where's here exactly?" Logan was not particularly eager to stay in his loft. The loft that he and Olivia had lived in together. With thought of Olivia's face, he determined to leave as soon as possible. Previously, he had briefly considered the third floor window as a possible exit, but was now become reconciled to the more traditional door.

Veronica told him her address in Morningside Heights. "Write it down," she instructed him firmly.

"Don't worry. I'll tell Joe to take charge of me. He's almost as good a nursemaid as you are. See ya." Logan hung up. Veronica looked around her apartment carefully. The one bedroom apartment was extremely small, but she liked to call it cozy. There was a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living room in a space half the size of the apartment in Neptune. The bedroom was really only big enough for the bed, a small chest of drawers and a miniscule desk with basically zero floor space. Veronica decided to make the bed hurriedly, something she occasionally "forgot" to do. She cleaned up the lunch dishes in the kitchen and arranged the books on her tiny coffee table. Now it looked at least vaguely presentable. _I'm sure at this point anything looks better than Logan's though._

As Veronica waited reading the new mystery she had bought, the doorbell rang. Veronica opened it, feeling strangely nervous. She was rather surprised to see two men dress dressed entirely in Star Wars costumes, including a wookie mask for the taller one. She stared. Logan removed the wookie mask clumsily. The shorter one, whom she did not recognize, smiled apologetically. "Logan insisted we needed disguises. I think we would have gotten along fine dressed as normal people, but, as you may know, reason and Logan seldom go together."

"No one recognized us!" Logan cut in emphatically, "Everyone left us alone."

"That's probably because you look like lunatics. Did you just have these lying around?" Veronica looked skeptical.

"A guy's got to have a few secrets." Logan smirked at her.

Veronica rolled her eyes as she gestured for them to come inside. _And once again, I feel like I've entered bizarro-world. Hello, Logan, and welcome to my humble home. Let's catch up!_

"Do you mind if I change?" Joe asked.

"Not at all, take the bathroom." Veronica pointed. "Logan, you take the bedroom. That costume is truly scary."

He left obediently and she collapsed on the sofa. Now that he was here, she wondered what she could have been thinking and then decided she didn't want to know. She would say they could pick up where they left off, if they hadn't left off thinking they would never pick up again.

Soon, Joe came out of her bathroom, dressed in a gray suit. "Thank you for having me. I'm afraid I have to go right now to see if I can make any arrangements, but I will probably be back later. You know, things to do." He gestured vaguely in a manner that was supposed to be illustrative. He lowered his voice and said to Veronica, "Don't worry; I'll get him off your hands in no time."

Veronica waved him goodbye. _Please come back soon_, she thought, _I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to deal with Logan alone. Or at all._

She sat flipping through a photography magazine waiting to Logan to appear. She didn't what exactly she was feeling. All she knew was that she was restless. She found another magazine. More flipping. She tried her iPod, but just scrolled back and forth through it, trying to find something appropriate. And Logan still didn't appear.

She went over to her bedroom and knocked on the door. She called, "Logan?" There was no response. She turned the knob slowly and walked in. She saw Logan hunched over at her desk, dressed in his jeans, but still wearing his Star Wars shirt, his shoulders shaking. As swiftly she moved closer, she saw the tears on his face and the picture in his hand. _A proof from our delightful Vanity Fair shoot. Nothing like seeing a happy photo of you and the ex who just cheated on you for a breakdown._ Her arms went around Logan naturally and without thinking she stroked his back, shushing him. _Just like old times._ And then inexplicably she too began to tear up. The tears kept coming. Her brain had gone on total shutdown and then she was full out sobbing and Logan was holding her and saying, "It's okay, Veronica, it's okay." As she lost control, she did what she always did: get angry. Still trying to stop the sobs, she glared and pushed out the words, "You're the one who's not supposed to be okay. I'm supposed to be comforting you." Logan said nothing, but still held her as she tried to get herself together. Her breath was just getting less ragged and more natural, when the phone rang shrilly.

They leapt apart, just remembering themselves and not looking at each other. As Veronica rubbed away her tears with one hand and swallowed, she said in a steady voice, "Hello, V. Reynolds here."

"Hi, Veronica? It's Joe, you know, Logan's manager."

"Oh, hi, do you want to talk to Logan?"

"Oh, sure."

She handed the phone to Logan, still without looking at him. "It's Joe."

"Oh, hey Joe, my man," he said as if he hadn't been rather emotional moments before, "What's up?"

_God, it's no wonder you're doing so well in Hollywood_, she thought as she watched him talk on the phone so casually.

"Okay, see you soon." He hung up the phone. "A producer of "Fight or Flight" is lending me his house in Southampton just until the media shitstorm blows over. I'm going out there soon. Joe is showing up with my stuff, the key and whatever soon."

"Okay." Veronica looked at the costume shirt he was still wearing, damp from her own lately-shed tears. "I guess I'll leave you to finish changing. I'll be out there." She pointed to the other room.

The crying had left her feeling angry and empty. And hungry. It was dinner time; she decided to make some toast. She watched the red light of the toaster, carefully monitoring that it would get toasted exactly as much as she liked it. Just when the toast popped, Logan appeared. He grabbed a piece of toast and slathered butter on it took a bite. "Hey, that's mine!" she said as she snatched it from her and took a bite herself. He coolly took the piece still in the toaster and delicately spread butter on it. Veronica put some more bread in the toaster. They sat silently, eating toast and picking up the crumbs from the table with damp fingers. Veronica poured them both some water and drank hers thirstily. Still, neither spoke.

The doorbell rang. _Good, he'll be leaving at last,_ she thought with relief as she opened the door to Joe, who was carrying a suitcase and a bunch of papers._ My life can go back to normal. _

"Okay, Logan, here is the address and gate code of the house," Joe said handing Logan a couple sheets of paper. Logan folded them up and shoved them in his pocket. "Here is your stuff for several days. There is a car showing up here in fifteen minutes to pick you up. Are there any last things you need to do? Any stuff you need to put in the case? If not, give Veronica your goodbyes and we'll skedaddle."

"No, there's nothing else." He turned to look Veronica in the eye. "Except that I'm not going without Veronica."

"Logan, I really don't think that's wise—" Joe started.

Veronica interrupted, "I'm busy, Logan, I have a life to attend to. I can't just go off on a strange vacation with you…"

"Oh really?" Logan looked at her keenly. "Aren't you a freelance photographer?"

"Yes."

"And do you have any particular plans or jobs the next few days?"

"Well, no, but—"

"You have to come, Veronica."

"I don't have to do anything. I can't just mess up my life for you, Logan!" Veronica hadn't even realized how loudly she said that until Joe just stared at her.

"Please." It was only one vulnerable word.

They held eye contact until Veronica softly said, "Okay." She didn't know what she was doing, but there was no way she could stop herself. "I need to go pack some stuff."

She grabbed enough clothing for a couple of days from her bag and stuffed it in the suitcase she kept under the bed. By the time she had gotten her stuff together, the car was waiting downstairs. They went down the elevator in silence and into the car. As they drove away, all Veronica could think was, _How did I ever get into this._

* * *

They had been on the road for about an hour and half. There had been almost no talking as neither particularly wanted to mention any of the obvious topics of conversation. They had watched the passing cars and trees through the tinted windows.

Veronica had fallen asleep about an hour in. Logan was gazing at her peaceful face._ The face of the girl he had cruelly taunted, the face he had kissed profusely, the face he had hated and adored, the face that had looked at him with such love and such hatred, but never trust. The face that featured in both his dreams and his nightmares. A face that hadn't changed a bit since he had left it four years before and yet had changed completely. The same face he had sworn he would never see again, but now was less than three feet away from him._

He reached over and with one finger gently pushed the piece of hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear.

_What are you doing, Logan_, he thought as he watched her chest rise and fall tranquilly in sleep, _What the hell are you doing?_

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to leave me your thoughts! (yes, that means please review).**


	5. You Can't Always Get What You Want

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,097**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: Enjoy a lot of back-story. That's what you get when you put these two together, even at breakfast! And reviewers, you make this worthwhile. Keep doing what you're doing and I'd love to hear what you think of the story of what happened to these two between Hearst and now. **

Veronica awoke smelling the welcome and familiar smell of frying bacon. The bed was deliciously soft and she rolled over to her other side. She felt very rested; her sleep had been utterly dreamless. Veronica opened her eyes a crack and saw the sun streaming through the window in a room she had never seen before. She sat up suddenly. She relaxed a little when she remembered. _Oh, right, the Hamptons home of some producer. Logan and I are alone in a house together, because… Okay, I don't know why. I must have fallen asleep in the car last night And yet somehow ended up in here._ She got out of bed, realizing that she was only wearing her underwear and one of Logan's shirts. _At least, I don't think I've ever owned a giant shirt that said "Don't stop believin'" with a picture of Santa on it. And let's pretend I cannot imagine how I got from my previously clothed state to this one._ The smell of bacon was getting gradually more powerful and more irresistible. Veronica quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt and went downstairs. She got a bit lost trying to find the kitchen, but she let her nose lead here and she walked in to see Logan frying vigorously in a pink apron. With frills. He looked up as she entered.

"Nice outfit," she said, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

"It was the only one they had," he said, shrugging. "I see you have changed out of my fashion choice." As Veronica glared at him, he said, "Oh, come on Veronica, it's nothing I haven't seen before…" He slid the bacon from his pan onto a plate. "Bacon?"

She took the plate gratefully and brought it to the kitchen table. Logan sat down next to her with a plate of his own. Logan got up to get some grapefruit juice and offered some to her. The scene was so bizarrely domestic. When Logan and Veronica had been together before his house burned down, there was always plenty of staff to do everything. Besides, they had never spent much time there; there were no parents and Veronica found the absence eerie in the giant house. Thoughts of Aaron, too, seemed unavoidable there. Then when Logan lived at the Neptune Grand it could never stop being a hotel and they always got room service. After Logan and Veronica broke up for the last time, he and Dick had gotten a house together, but Veronica had only been in there once: the night of October 3rd in senior year. And then here they were, quietly having a home-cooked breakfast together. But all Veronica could see were the giant elephants in the room, so numerous as to crowd them even in the generously sized kitchen. And there Logan was, peacefully eating his bacon and toast.

"Logan, what are we doing?" She asked the question directly, looking at him.

"We're having breakfast." She should have known he'd dodge like that. Everything was so serious, so nothing was.

"No, really, Logan. We can't just, we can't just pretend this is normal."

"Why not?" Logan's face was a stubborn blank, but he stabbed his bacon violently.

"What else can we do?" Veronica didn't even know what she was trying to provoke, just that the status quo was unbearable. "If all that is happening is that we sit here or other venues in silence, I am going home. I just can't stay here without any conversation. Or answers. Why did you ask me to come? Why am I here?"

"I don't know." Logan didn't look at her.

Veronica felt her frustration reach boiling point. "This situation is ludicrous! Do I need to spell it out for you? We're in a house owned by a producer of your new movie, hiding from the paparazzi and whoever else because everyone cares about the big movie star's girlfriend's sex tape. Why are you even a big movie star anyway? I never even thought that was what you wanted."

They both knew the other was thinking of Aaron, but neither would mention his name. "My mother was an actor, too, you know," Logan said roughly.

"Of course I knew that, I just—" Veronica started, but Logan cut her off, saying acidly, "Well, then you would be the only one to remember." Veronica just waited.

Logan crumbled his toast. Veronica sat there, knowing that Logan wasn't finished yet. He took in a sharp breath and began, trying to sound as detached as possible and looking away from her. "I never was one of those kids who had some big dream. Or any dream. I just kinda tried to survive day by day and still laugh about it. I never tried to picture any future. The only time I saw a future was when we were together." He looked at her. She had to look away. "I imagined that we would be for forever. Cooking dinner, having kids, you know the whole deal."

He paused. "Anyways, when that went kaput, well I just went back to living day to day. I mean, you know I got my degree in psychology, but I really just scraped by. Not that I could really do anything with that degree. I never was that stellar a student and certainly not up to Veronica standards. I definitely didn't want to do any more schooling. But I thought about being a productive member of society, so when I got to L.A. I tried to get a job. Funnily enough, being the son of a murdered accused murderer and statutory rapist as well as being an accused murderer and organizer of bum fights oneself makes it challenging to get hired. I did get a job however, working as some sort of lowly office research assistant. I stuck that out for a little bit, but I can't say I was particularly talented; besides, when you have your own large source of private income, it's difficult to reconcile working 40 hours a week doing a job you don't like, where you are badly paid and where you don't need the money. So I quit and floated around L.A. for a bit, sampling the girls and the booze.

"I had settled into a routine of drinking myself silly and sleeping around, when I happened to run into a producer friend of my mom's at the gym. He asked what I was doing and when I said nothing, he asked if I wanted to try out for his new film. Shia LaBeouf had just dropped out and he knew that my life story would draw water with the public. It was really the only field where my checkered past was an advantage. Well, I did a screen test and it turned out that mommy and daddy's genes did help out. At first, I did it just to have something to do. You would be surprised how dull only partying can get after a couple months. Plus, it was somewhat enjoyable to be someone else for a little while and forget about my shitty life, particularly someone who could just blast away his problems with a stun gun or whatever alien weapon they gave me. From there I'm sure you have read of my meteoric rise in all your favorite tabloids. It's pretty fascinating: I mean, an orphan from a broken home with oodles of cash makes even more!"

Veronica flinched at the bitterness in his voice. She didn't know what to say, but she wanted to say something. She opened her mouth, but Logan spoke first, "So, did how did little miss teen detective end up photographer to the stars? Is it possible that she didn't get everything she wanted either?"

Veronica's mouth was dry. "You were really my first star, you know. You would've been my big break." Veronica gave a rueful chuckle.

"What do you mean, 'would've'? I still am that Vanity Fair cover aren't I? They're probably thanking their lucky stars they got me for this month." Logan smiled to himself. "They probably can't use much of that interview though. I hope they're torturing Joe, trying to get in touch with me."

Veronica ignored the deflection of a hard question. She had decided she couldn't be cowardly; she couldn't let Logan give his explanation without hers. "After I graduated Hearst, I decided to come to New York to see if I could be an investigative journalist. Getting out of Neptune was priority number one and I'd loved New York when I had visited, so I just hopped on a plane and showed up. The first thing I realized was that I couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't a journalism major, I was a criminology major; then, my checkered past with the Heart Free Press was a little hard for anyone to bother to figure out. I gave them some stories, but no one wanted a crime journalist anyway; at least, certainly not one so short, so blonde and so female. I worked as a waitress for a little while, but I did get a job doing tiny crime stories for the Observer. The job was fine, but my boss thought that I was a little too efficient, given that I could write much better, faster and more clearly than he could."

Veronica took a deep breath before continuing and looked away from Logan's hard stare focused on her. "Then he tried to feel me up a couple times, which I tried to deal with, and then he said that I would never get anywhere if I weren't more 'cooperative'," She gave a disgusted grimace while making the air quotes around "cooperative". She saw Logan clench his fists, so she started up again quickly. "So then I reported him for sexual harassment. They ignored it. I collected evidence and brought suit against the company, but they wanted to settle. My dad had serious heart surgery that needed to be paid for, so I settled. I had to leave the company and I tried to get another job reporting, but my boss obviously wouldn't recommend me and the chiefly male crime reporters and editors had all seemed to have heard of me or somehow all vacancies were filled by the time I showed up. Unsurprisingly.

"I had been selling a few of my photos when I had been waitressing, but then I started doing it seriously. Having been burned by journalism, photography seemed like a good option and I was good at it. My stuff got around, I started making a decent living and I've just been getting more popular. Plus, the name change means no one remembers the sexually-harassed crime reporter. Not quite an E! Hollywood true story, but you've cornered the market on that."

Veronica sighed, exhausted after getting all of that out. She had never told anyone the whole story, and never anything about the harassment. Keith had been pacified by her statement that photography paid well (which it did not). Wallace had been preoccupied by his own business and accepted her excuse that she just liked photography as a rest from investigating. Mac knew more, but it was hard to talk about it when they were so far away from each other. And Veronica was never the sharing type. She just told Weevil that she was fine; she knew how defensive of her he could be. Her new friends only knew V. Reynolds and were perfectly happy about that.

Veronica looked at Logan for the first time since ending her explanation. There was a look in his eyes that Veronica didn't want to identify. All of the possible options seemed painful in their special way. She just brought her plate to the sink and went back up to the bedroom she had slept in. She took out one of the mysteries in the bookshelf and decided to read it. She collapsed on the bed, ready to forget anyone and everyone for several hours but the investigatory skills of Lord Peter Wimsey, sleuth extraordinaire.

Downstairs, Logan rubbed his forehead. He certainly wasn't very hungry anymore. All he knew was that he was going to find Veronica's ex-boss and they were going to "have a conversation". Logan cracked his knuckles and smirked in anticipation. One other thing he knew was that what he wanted to do most was to wrap his arms around Veronica and take a deep whiff of the shampoo that he had just sensed at breakfast which he always identified with her; that possibility seemed unbearably remote though.

**Umm, so review. So, yes, Logan and Veronica do have a lot of baggage, but that's why we love them. I hope this helps explain how they got where they are now pretty clearly.**

**Review!**


	6. There Is Something I Have to Tell You

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language, a little bit of content.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 1,224**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: I'm sorry this has taken so long and that it is half as long as my usual chapters. I swear I'll put another chapter up soon as I'm finishing working this week and start prepping to go to college, but up until this point I have been incredibly busy. Special thanks go to Lilly Navarro for making me feel really guilty :). I definitely have not given up on this story! As always, please tell me what you think and I'm very open to criticism. **

It was dusk when Veronica finally emerged. She was hungry and a little tired of hiding in her room, as good as her book might be. She went down to the kitchen to check out what was available. There wasn't really much that was fresh except for some milk and juice, so Veronica made do with dried fruit and crackers.

When she was sitting down to enjoy her meager meal, Veronica noticed a post-it stuck to the kitchen table. On it was a roughly drawn schematic map with the two labels of "house" and "beach". _Hmm, I suppose that's where Logan's disappeared to. Not that it should be a surprise Might be a little too cold for surfing though._ Even as much as she didn't particularly want to see Logan, the thought of the beach was alluring. It had been a while since she was been home and, California girl as she was, she loved the ocean, salty air and rough touch of sand. _It may be the Atlantic, not the Pacific, but beach is beach, and it's certainly something I miss. _As soon as she felt the faint waves of nostalgia, she knew it was too tempting to stop by. _Just because I'm nearby._ She ate her food hurriedly and headed back upstairs to fetch some beach-friendly gear. As an afterthought she grabbed her camera, too. Twilight was always an interesting time to shoot.

Wearing flip-flops and a warm cardigan, she walked down the driveway to the gate, fingering the post-it note. It was warm for October, but there was still a slight chill that assured Veronica her sweater was necessary. When Veronica got to the gate, she realized she had no idea how to open it. She looked at the post-it to see if maybe Logan had bothered to include the code. _If only I hadn't been asleep when we got here last night. I guess Logan just wanted to see if I'm still as limber as ever. _She scaled the back of the gate relatively easily, but tripped a little on the front, scraping the palm of her hand. She bit her lip, but straightened up and grinned to herself. _Score 1 for the mad PI skills._

The short walk to the beach was calming. In this wealthy enclave all the houses had tall, well-trimmed privet hedges that partially hid their giant houses from the street. Veronica liked to imagine all the nefarious things that could go on inside that no one could possibly notice. What she hoped, however, was that it was nothing like Neptune. _Sure, it's just nice, happy families who frolic in their large estates. Actually, it's the off-season, so it's more like no one but the caretakers frolicking. Or ghosts perhaps. _

Veronica didn't particularly want to dwell on ghosts of any sort, so she was glad that at that moment she arrived at the beach car park. Every now and again a seagull would swoop overheard, crying raucously. When she took her shoes off, the sand felt soft but cold between her bare toes. The sky was growing more purplish with a few scattered pink clouds. The western horizon still held the sunset's aftermath streaked across it, but it was slowly darkening. The beach looked gray and colorless in the dimming light. The barely crashing ocean was just barely reflecting the waning light and in its darkness was strangely inviting.

The shore was completely deserted except for a man in a white hoodie, sitting facing the ocean. _Logan._ Without thinking, she snapped a photo. He whipped round tense at the sound, but relaxed when he saw it was her. "I bet you could make a lot of money from that photo," he said dryly.

"Oh, come on, like anyone could recognize you just from your back. Even your teenage fangirls aren't that good." She flopped down next to him on the sand. They both sat silently staring at the gentle waves. Veronica breathed in the briny air.

Again, quiet reigned. Between them, it was difficult to float along in a simple conversation because they never knew when it would begin to drown them. Veronica, for one, was trying to let the silence keep her from the hard questions and impossible answers. Logan, however, killed that plan rather quickly.

"Why does everyone in my life leave me?" Logan's voice was quiet, cold, controlled. _Wow, way to jump right in._

Even as she was shaken by the suddenness and desperation of the question, she tried to say something. "They—"

Logan cut her off with a litany of losses, his voice growing more ragged with each one: "Lilly: broke up with me and then was murdered, my mom: jumped off a bridge, you: accused me off murder, Duncan: ran off with his illegitimate child and without saying goodbye, Hannah: shipped to boarding school, Beaver: suicide number two, Aaron: murdered, but it wasn't as if that wasn't mostly a good thing, then you again: I don't even know why, and finally Olivia: cheating slut."

As Logan swallowed at the end of his bitter list, Veronica looked at her hands, with no idea what to do. "I'm sorry," she said, knowing how incredibly inadequate it was. She was afraid to touch him. She knew that if she did, there would be no knowing what would happen next. Instead she rubbed the cut on her hand from climbing the gate.

"And, Veronica?" As he said her name, Logan looked her in the eye, "Why are you the only one that has ever come back?"

"I don't know," she murmured as his hand reached up to stroke her cheek. Inevitably, his lips came down to hers and as they met she responded to the kiss, at first gently and then with more and more furiousness. Even as her brain was letting go of all rational thought, she was surprising herself with her own urgency. The touch of hands and lips that she knew so well and had unknowingly missed for so long was intoxicating. She reached her hand up to his head and ran her hands through his short, soft hair as his own hands snaked up under her shirt, his fingers cold. As her fingers ran lightly down his back and traced the line between his boxers and bare skin, he breathed into her hair, "Oh, Veronica…"

Hearing his voice gave her pause. Their visceral urges had overtaken them, but words brought her back to consciousness and its necessary complications.

As she pulled away, in the gathering darkness she only just made out his expression of yearning and puzzlement, but he made no move to stop her. "Logan, we have to talk about this," she said evenly.

Logan frowned. "What in particular do you want to talk about this time?"

"I don't _want_ to talk about anything. But we have to."

"Why can't we just do what we want to and forget about the rest?" Logan's voice was part petulant, part suggestive. _Like we ever could,_ Veronica thought and Logan smirked as he saw that she was struggling to disagree with him.

"Logan," she said through clenched teeth, with a frustration she really meant for herself. She took a deep breath meant to steady herself and briefly closed her eyes to stiffen her resolve. "Logan, there's something I have to tell you."

* * *

**Yes, cliffie, but you know what's coming next so not that much of one. I swear I'll try to post soon. And I'm sorry it took so long and I love reviews, of course.**


	7. The Truth

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: PG-13, for a tiny bit of language, a little bit of content.**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 3,563**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: I hope this is fast enough for you all :). Plus, it's about 1,000 words longer than my normal chapter length. Thanks for sandstar08 for the "husband and 2.4 kids" line idea. Again, reviewers, you are the reason I write and I love you all. I'm only 3 reviews away from 100! Yippeeeeee.**

"There's something I have to tell you." As she repeated the words, their import truly sunk in. _Everything would be so much better if only I could keep quiet. But the ex-teen detective has got to fuck everything up, because that's how it goes. _She shivered in the dark and the cold that she had only just truly noticed. Her thin sweater was certainly not enough for nighttime in October.

Despite the dark, Logan noticed her shivering. He took off his hoodie and handed it to her. When she tried to refuse it, he shrugged and she accepted it. He said, "I drove here. Let's get back to the house before you say anything that might make me want to leave you here." _That's an excellent idea as walking back alone in the dark has no particular appeal. Especially when I would certainly have to climb over the gate again. _They both stood up and headed towards the parking lot.

As Veronica put on the sweatshirt, she couldn't help but smell the scent of Logan ingrained in it. She recognized his shampoo and shaving cream and stopped there as the memories which up to now had been stoppered came flooding out. Even when they had been kissing, she had been absorbed only in his touch, not in the past. She felt guilt for every time she had let him down or failed to trust him, anger for all those times he had hurt her and warmth from those few occasions when everything had been alright. She would never concede anything better than alright.

She climbed into the passenger side of the green Lexus SUV. She guessed it must be another thing leant by the producer. _He is bizarrely kind. I doubt most producers would do this even for their most important star ._

"So, what is it you want to tell me? You don't have a secret husband and 2.4 kids do you?" He looked over to see her reaction.

"Of course not," she said and paused for a beat, "you can't have 2.4 kids."

"Ha ha, very funny, Veronica. And the husband part?"

"No." She held up her ringless left hand. This whole guessing game was just making her want to say something less and less.

"You just came here so you could tell your girlfriends you had sex with a movie star?"

Veronica had too many responses to that to get any out, so she just glared and Logan chuckled.

"We have a secret love-child? I would have thought you would go to the tabloids first."

"Logan, why are you guessing like this?"

"Because I know nothing good can come out of that look on your face. And guessing at least puts off any kind of horrible revelation for a while." Logan kept his eyes steadily on the road and turned into the driveway of the house. He punched in the code, purposely so that Veronica couldn't see what he was typing. They drove up the back door and parked. As he opened the door, Logan asked, "Where would you like to have this knock-down-drag-out whatever we're going to have? Any room is at your disposal and you are responsible for the valuables."

Veronica shrugged. Logan continued, "Well then, I suggest the living room. The couch is particularly comfy."

Veronica looked at him quizzically. "How come you know this place so well? You and the producer must be close." It was Logan's turn to shrug as he led her into the living room.

They sat on opposing ends of the long couch. Now that Veronica had no way to put it off, she was reluctant to start. Part of her wished she had listened to Logan and just left it alone. But now there was no going back. Without rehashing the past, there was no possible future. He would always wonder and it was always just below her own skin.

She entwined her fingers nervously. "Okay. Do you remember October 3rd our senior year at Hearst?"

"I would have thought you knew I had given up drinking until I blacked out. Despite vague drunkenness, I remember than night with much clarity. Need a recap?"

"No. Definitely not. Anyway, we, umm, you know, and then, well, and then 2 weeks later I found out I was pregnant." She had been looking down at her clenched hands, but then looked right up at his face. He had gone white.

"What?" He sounded stunned and confused.

"You heard me. Me. Pregnant. Do I need to draw a diagram? Actually, you could probably draw me a diagram."

"What?" He still was in shock. "What, what happened?"

"We both took the required high school sex ed. class…"

"No, I mean after," his voice was humorless.

Veronica was reluctant to go on, but she had to. He tone was measured as she said, "Well, then I decided to get an abortion, so I did—"

Logan interrupted angrily, "How could you, Veronica?" As he said it, he stood up and stepped away from the couch.

His tone infuriated her. "How could I? It was my life I would be giving up, my _life_. I didn't have time for a baby and I wasn't ready to be a mother. Unlike you, _I_ had dreams. How could you ask me to give that up—"

"God, Veronica, how could you _not tell me_?"

Veronica wasn't thrown for more than a moment. "I didn't know what to do, Logan! We weren't in a relationship—"

"We weren't in a relationship! What kind of excuse is that? All I knew was that I woke up October 4th and you were gone, no note, no nothing and you dodged me for a couple of weeks. And then when you saw me again, you had this look, this look that at the time I found inexplicable. Now I know it meant 'Oh, Logan, I didn't think you were worthy of being told that I was pregnant with your child, so I don't want to see you anymore'. Thanks for explaining that now!"

"I didn't know what to do, Logan. I was young and stupid and afraid."

"I've known you since we were twelve, we were best friends, we were worst enemies, we've dated three times. And yet, you didn't think telling me you were pregnant and that you were thinking of getting an abortion was relevant information? Excuse me if I'm a little incensed."

"Listen—"

"No, Veronica, you listen. I know why you didn't tell me. You were afraid that I would want you to keep the baby, that I wouldn't listen to you. You didn't trust me enough to talk to me about such an important decision, important not just to you but to me. You just did your Veronica thing of keeping it all to yourself because you think you can be completely autonomous and then everything will be fine. And it's never worked, has it? If anything, this should show you how wrong you are. How could you think that of me? After all that time, you still thought I couldn't be trusted. Well, what a huge fucking surprise." At this, he took a porcelain figure of a woman from the mantelpiece and smashed it. The shards sprayed everywhere. _God, that'll be tough to clean up,_ was Veronica's first crazy thought.

Struggling to hold back tears, she almost laughed at the parallel with when she had broken up with Logan during the summer before senior year of high school. "Look, I made a mistake, Logan—"

"No, really? I'm glad that perfect Veronica is confessing to one. Refreshing, it is. What I also wonder is, how come you never told me since then? Never thought, hmm, here's something I owe to my old friend Logan?" He faced her with his arms crossed.

"Well, you disappeared immediately after graduation. I went to your house and Dick just said you'd left. What was I supposed to think?"

"As if you tried at all. I mean, Veronica and her pixie spy magic can find anyone. At least, you always seemed to find Duncan when he ran away. You were glad to let me go, just admit it. You never needed to be reminded of your 'mistake' anymore. No need to have that look anymore."

"God, Logan, you want to know how I felt? I hated myself for it. And every time I saw you, I _knew_ I owed it to you, but I couldn't. I was afraid. Afraid that you'd react the way you are now. Afraid of my own feelings about it. You make me vulnerable and I can't afford that. I just wanted to leave that part of my life behind." She was sobbing in anger, frustration and sadness. "I still hate myself for it," she muttered. She swallowed. "I knew it would end up like this. I just couldn't keep it in any longer. I couldn't, I can't, bear it. Please hate me. It would make my night." She closed her eyes and clenched her fists while her tears continued to fall. She felt angry and upset, but relieved that she had let it out. At least there was a modicum of honesty. Secrets were always unruly items.

She sat there sobbing for several minutes, furious and wretched. Then, she felt male arms around her still shaking shoulders. She turned her head to Logan and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

"You are upset." He didn't remove his arms.

Her breathing grew steadier. "Why can't you just hate me?"

He shrugged. He said nothing for a little while and then said simply, "I don't, Veronica. I forgive you. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," she said, as she turned and wept into his shirt.

* * *

The morning found them still on the same couch, Veronica lying on Logan's chest fast asleep. She had cried herself out and just dozed off.

Logan awoke first, but stayed still, afraid to wake Veronica. He just lay there looking at the lines of light crisscrossing the ceiling, finally able to think.

_How could she cut me out of her life like that. Veronica betrays Logan, that's not really the biggest surprise of the century. She was pregnant with my child and never told me. Well, up to now. And decided to get an abortion and never told me. I should hate her, I really should, but I can't. It's not like I wanted a kid either. When she made that decision without me, she cut me out of her life. Just like that. But now here she is, asleep in my arms. It's been only been a little more than 48 hours since I learned how Olivia fucked me over. And fucked Connor. And here I am with Veronica, who I never thought I'd see again, sleeping on me having confessed to having screwed me over too. And yet all I want to do is stay like this forever. Oh, Logan, you're in too deep again._

She moved slightly in her sleep and he stroked her hair. _Who knows what it's going to be like when she wakes up. I never know what Veronica I'm going to get. But it barely matters, because I still want her no matter what. Maybe we can make something this time. Something except for disaster._

I heard the footsteps outside the front door in the next door room and the sound of a key turning in the lock. He slipped out from beneath Veronica gently, but quickly and entered the front hall, closing the door behind him. He was just in time to see Dick Casablancas entering the front door. "Hey man," he said, walking over to clasp his hand.

"Hey, dude! So, I heard about that Olivia girl. Sorry about that man, 'cause she was hot. Never knew she was into such kinky shit. Do you think she'd be into me?"

Logan punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Glad you're so supportive in my hour of need."

"Yeah, well, that's me all the way. Are you alright? I mean, I would have expected you to be drowning in booze and growing a beard. Decided to stop being so pussy-whipped?"

Logan made noncommittal noises. Dick continued happily without response, "So, how do you like the pad?"

At that moment, the door to the living room opened and Veronica entered, sleepy-eyed and tousle-haired. At the site of Dick, her eyes shot open and she gaped in confusion.

"Veronica?" Dick exclaimed in shock. He stared. "Veronica?" he said her name again as if it were utterly foreign to him.

"Dick?" Veronica had managed to pull herself together a bit. "What are you doing here?"

Dick was struggling to put his string his words together. "This…this is my house."

"No, it isn't. I thought it belonged to the producer of…" Her voice trailed off as she began to understand.

"Yeah, Ronnie, that's me," Dick said smugly, "He and his costar drama are sure to make me a ton of money. But then he was always very popular with the females. Never could understand why. But really, what are you doing here? Last I'd heard you'd fallen off the planet."

"I don't know," she said. Both Veronica and Dick looked at Logan. He shrugged and dodged the wordless questions with, "Breakfast, anyone?"

The thought of food immediately distracted Dick and he whined about how incredibly hungry he was. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and have a shower," Veronica said, feeling rather grimy in her slept-in and sandy clothes.

* * *

The shower felt so refreshing. The water pressure was good and Veronica made the temperature just as hot as she could bear it. It almost felt as if she was stripping her skin off and she loved it. Anything unpleasant or unwanted would be boiled off of her, leaving her new again.

Veronica could not let herself dwell on her and Logan the night before. It was too much, too complex, too frightening. She had opened up to a scarily vulnerable extent and she wasn't ready to remember it. Her reflexes said to run, to hide whatever could keep her safe and secret. She turned her mind instead to scrubbing herself with extreme thoroughness.

_Oh, God, and Dick is here, _she thought, _I never could imagine him as a real functioning human in society, but here he is with a job, zero visible floozies and, I imagine, some success. He was wearing a suit for goodness sakes. Now that's a sight I never thought I'd see. _Veronica grinned to herself. _Me, Logan and Dick are quite the odd threesome. Uggh, I can't believe I thought the words "me, Logan and Dick" and "threesome" in the same sentence. _

Veronica stepped out of the shower, dried her hair with a towel and put on jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Any ideas of dressing to impress had been thrown out the window long ago. She brushed her hair so it would dry straight and trotted down to the kitchen to see what the boys had gotten up to.

She paused outside the door when she heard the voices inside.

"—I've said it before and I'll say it again, man. That girl is rich dude kryptonite! Especially for you. Are you going to get all mopey again when she leaves you high and dry?" Dick's voice had an edge of concern that Veronica had never heard before.

_And Veronica's thinking maybe Dick isn't that bad. I think I see a faint sheet of ice forming over Hell. _She should have just entered, but she stayed outside wanting to hear more. _It's like reconnaissance, really. I just need to know how the land lies. Really, eavesdropping is such an ugly word._

"Dick, look, it's my problem." Logan sounded guarded.

"No, it's not, not when all I get is your whining all the time about it. I thought you'd left her behind dude, moved on. Water under the bridge and all that. If it were Olivia right now, I'd understand. I mean, I wouldn't really, but I might pretend to for like a second and then bring you some more beer. But Veronica shows and you don't give a fuck about Olivia anymore. She makes you crazy, man, and you're no fun anymore. Why can't you just let the bitch go?"

Veronica was tense, straining to hear Logan's answer. She moved a little closer to the door to hear better and tripped on the small side table next to the door. The bronze vase can clattering down making a huge commotion. _So much for my spy skills. Now what have I learned except that Dick is as much of a dick as ever in many respects?_ The two men had come to the door and she looked up at them sheepishly as she replaced the vase. "I tripped," she said smiling innocently.

Logan looked like he knew she'd been listening. Dick just looked like Dick. "So, what's for breakfast?" she said to distract them.

"Well, I'm enjoying some excellent Cheerio's, but Dick's all about the Lucky Charms. We also have a wide selection of other breakfast cereals that you may inspect," Logan said, walking back into the kitchen.

"You know, it's incredible, but I can definitely see you shilling breakfast cereal on TV. And I'd love some Cheerio's please." She sat down at the kitchen table and poured herself a bowl when it was passed to her. _Logan, Dick and I having a jolly breakfast together. Not something I would have thought very likely. Ever._

Dick and Logan started a conversation about his movie, promoting it and the Hollywood gossip. Veronica mostly just listened in, adding a comment every once and a while. When Dick referenced an actress' "big jugs", she rolled her eyes, but chiefly everything went swimmingly. Logan and Veronica didn't talk to each other directly often. Dick tried to make some toast but ended up burning it and his hand. At the end of the meal, he retired to deal with his injury and some "work stuff".

"He's probably just off to watch some internet porn to make himself feel better," Logan said as Dick disappeared.

"Probably featuring a sexy nurse," Veronica mused, as she took her plate to the sink.

Together they cleaned up the breakfast things and loaded the dishwasher. Veronica directed Logan in the latter activity; she was in charge of putting in the soap and turning the dishwasher on. When they heard the humming sound of the machine beginning to work, they stood side by side looking at each other.

"Veronica, I know you were eavesdropping on our conversation earlier," Logan started.

Veronica interrupted, "Just for a second, really."

"Oh, really, Veronica, you say that like I don't know the extent of your nosiness." He gave her a brief smile. "Well, anyways, to refresh your memory of what you _didn't_ hear, Dick asked me why I can't let you go. And I've been thinking about it. Even before he asked, I was. But this is something I think I should tell you, not him, because I think I know the answer."

Veronica looked at him, frozen.

"I mean, why would I when you've fucked up my life so many times? There are so many reasons I should never want to see you again. You've been a bitch to me and crushed me, but I've been an asshole as well, too many times to count. The truth is, Veronica, that my life only seems real when you're in it. When I left after graduation, I just wanted to make a new life and be someone else. In a way, everything since then has been a sham. I've been playing my parts in movies and the part of the cool, but humble movie star. I didn't know it until I saw you at the photo shoot and I remembered how I had been, that in a way I was still Neptune High's obligatory psychotic jackass inside and "moving on" was just lying about it. I saw you and I woke up, I was broken and put back together all over again. Now I know that even as I asked Olivia to marry me, I never thought it was real, that it was really my life. You're the only one to whom I'm myself, all me, not the actor, the son of a murderer, the abused kid, the rich jackass. If you're just going to leave me once again then so be it; I just want a part of you, Veronica. That's all I can ask…"

His last words were only whispered as he had moved closer and closer to her as he spoke. He cupped her face with one hand and all she could do was stare at him. She leaned up to kiss him gently. "I missed you, too," was all she managed to get out before he began kissing her again. Their lips still connected, he lifted her up on the counter to make them the same height. When their mouths finally detached themselves, Logan was smiling. "Mmm, this reminds me of make outs in the girl's bathroom at Neptune High," he said.

"Oh yes, the good old days," she said mockingly. She started unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt. "How 'bout making some new memories?"

* * *

**Please review, my dears! Whatever you think, say it and I definitely promise to think about it and/or respond. Merci.**


	8. An Interlude

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: R, definitely R and maybe verging on NC-17. **

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 1,084**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: This isn't really a chapter, but more like an interlude. A smutty interlude. My chapter has been really hard to write so I'm giving you this as a present while I figure the rest out. I've never written anything in the least bit smutty before, so definitely tell me what you think.**

**A/N 2: To the ten reviewers of my last chapter: you are amazing and I love you. I'm sure you know that. You make writing just that much more fun. To the other 437 visitors: ummm, do you think you might try a review? Maybe? Remember, it means a lot to me and it takes only a few seconds. If only 10 of you listened that would be incredible, even. I mean, I fail to review all the time too, so I'm not setting myself up to be a saint, but give it a try.  
**

**An Interlude**

When Veronica's hands had gotten to the middle button of Logan's shirt and his hands had reached under her tank top to lift it up, they heard thumping footsteps on the stairs.

"Seriously, I'm gone for a second and you two are humping like rabbits," Dick said petulantly, "Under most circumstances, I would like a porno acted out in my house, but I mean, only if I'm getting some. I eat off that surface you know!"

They both glared at him, but detached themselves. Logan turned back to Veronica and murmured, "I think that's his way of saying get a room…"

Veronica nodded and leaned in to kiss him again. Dick made a retching noise. Logan took her hand to lead her upstairs, past Dick who was grumbling and said, "You two are sickening, you know that?"

When they finally got to Logan's room, he sat heavily on the end of bed, making himself about the same height as Veronica. "Leveling the playing field, I see," she said as she straddled him. "Exactly," he said, in between their kisses, as with each one he lay back farther on the bed. When Veronica had finally undone all of his shirt buttons, he flipped her over so he was on top and removed the shirt. Veronica's shirt had not yet been removed; that would mean a break in their kissing as it was lifted over her head. When Veronica no longer knew where her tongue stopped and Logan's began, Veronica's pocket vibrated.

It was her cellphone. She disentangled her self to see who it was. Norm. As she lifted it out of her pocket to answer it, Logan snatched for it. Veronica, however, managed to pick it up and answer it, and Logan sighed with frustration as she slid out from under him. "Hello?"

"Hey, V, it's Norm. I've been trying to get hold of you."

"Oh, hey Norm, what's up?" Veronica said, sliding further up the bed and away from scowling Logan.

"Well, for one thing, where the hell are you?" Logan came up next to her and began kissing her arm from the wrist upwards.

"Oh, I'm just, well, out of town." Veronica swatted Logan away, suppressing a giggle.

"Okay, whatever you say, workaholic Veronica. Anyways, I'm sure you can guess why we're calling. You heard about Logan Echolls right? I feel sorry for the guy."

"Mmm…" was all Veronica could muster as a response. Logan's distractions were much more entertaining.

"So that whole happy couple cover story is a bust. Bad timing is what I call it. If we can get a hold of the guy, we're going to have to redo the whole interview. Should be quite a scoop though if he shows up. His manager is annoyingly strict about his privacy. I've got bosses too, you know, and they're breathing down my neck about getting this shit together. Anyways, we need you back to retake the pictures, making him more emo and available. Depressing photography is your specialty anyway."

Logan had been kissing her neck and as he got up behind her ear, she felt ticklish and a giggle slipped out. As his hand glided up under her shirt, she hissed, "Logan…cut it out!"

"God, Veronica, you're not alone are you? At least someone's getting some. I remember what that was like once…" His voice trailed off as if reminiscing. "Wait, did you say, Logan? Would this be your old high school buddy Logan Echolls? Who is currently unreachable? Veronica—"

"No comment," Logan said into the phone as he grabbed the phone, pressed "End Call" and turned it off.

Veronica tried to seem put out, but melted under his passionate kiss. It wasn't as if she cared much about what Norm was saying. At least not right now. Logan pulled off her tank top in one swift motion and she laughed as he tossed it aside violently and theatrically. _Oh yes, Logan always has to be over the top. _Her bra met with similar treatment, and his kisses moved downward from her lips to her collar bone, to her breasts, to her stomach. _Of course Logan would remember every spot that makes me tremble every touch that makes me shiver. _When he got to her jeans, he removed them slowly, his hands brushing tantalizingly down the length of her legs.

The house phone began ringing, but neither heard it. Veronica sat up to unbelt Logan's jeans and he removed them. As he lay back on top of her, she ran her hands over his scarred back, refreshing her tactile memory. _Oh God, it's my Logan, my Logan, mine._ His eager hands caressed her breasts, toying with their erect nipples and stroking the soft skin surrounding them. He smiled when she sighed at his touch. As her hands moved downwards to remove his plaid boxers, there was a pounding on the door. "Hey, dude, Joe is on the phone for you and he says it's urgent," Dick's voice called.

Logan's voice was husky but incensed. "I'll call him back. Can't you tell we're fucking busy?"

There was no response from Dick, but Veronica pulled his head in close to say, "Technically, I think I think it should be that we're busy fucking."

Their tongues met again and Veronica's hands slipped his boxers off. Her briefs, too, disappeared. His hand slipped between her legs and his gentle rubbing made her breath accelerate. "Oh, Logan," she moaned. He grinned at his effect on her and kissed her exposed neck, whispering, "Is there something you wanted to say, Veronica?"

Her breathing was heavy. "I've missed you, Logan," she breathed out, "every part of you," she said as she reached out to handle his stiff cock. As her hand ran along it, it was his turn to sign uncontrollably.

He took a condom out of the pocket of the jeans lying on the bed and handed it to Veronica. She tore the package and hastily slipped it on him. They could both taste the desire in the air.

He thrust into her, gently at first but then harder and harder. Their breathing was synchronized. He tangled one hand in her hair. Her hands lay on his hard chest and muscular shoulder. Each of Veronica's moans increased not in volume, but in intensity until the last and longest. _I need you, Logan, I need you, Ineedyou, Ineedyou, Ineedyou…_Simultaneously, Logan expelled his breath sharply. He rolled off of her, his hand still caught in her golden hair.

* * *

**Please drop a review! I love feedback and it makes me work faster (I swear) because y'all give me so many ideas. Thanks for reading. **


	9. Anonymous Blonde

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: R, definitely R and maybe verging on NC-17. **

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 3,390**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: For some reason, writing this chapter was like pulling teeth. And metaphorically speaking, my gums are still aching. I'm not sure how to feel about it or if it flows at all. I just couldn't zip it out like some of the others, which it why it took so long. Sorry.**

**A/N 2: Reviewers, I love you. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts! Also, apparently being totally pathetic in your author's note works. It warmed my sad, sad heart. Merci beaucoup and I'd love to know what you think about this chapter. Also, I just got to 10,000 hits, so yippee. I like you readers, too.**

**Anonymous Blonde**

She lay, her head on his chest, staring at the ceiling. Logan's arms lay across her and his lips kissed the top of her head tenderly. She interlaced her fingers with Logan's and he smiled. "Logan," she asked, "what are we doing?"

"Well," he replied facetiously, "I believe we are currently lazily lying in bed in what is technically known as post-coital bliss."

"Logan, seriously, I need a real answer. What is this?"

Logan's face became serious and he stroked her shoulder with his free hand. "I don't know, Veronica. I don't know."

Again, there was silence, but it was comfortable. They lay in the sunny room connected but still apart, each still wondering what the other was thinking, what the other wanted who the other was. In some ways, they were still strangers, now matter how close they were. The years apart stretched between them like a barrier, voids of uncertain time that seemed sometimes unreal, sometimes the only real thing. Logan had said "post-coital bliss", but what Veronica was feeling was not bliss, not anymore, not yet. There was too much that had gushed up into her mind once her desire had allowed other thoughts in. If she and Logan were essential parts of the same puzzle, there were still key parts missing. Intimacy was too easy and too hard and was getting Veronica all mixed up.

Resolved to do something, Veronica crossed her arms and breathed out. "Logan?"

"Yes, Veronica?"

_Again, with confessional hour. I guess this word vomit is a good thing, but it sure is uncomfortable. Better out than in seems oddly applicable here. _"I feel like I owe you an explanation. For, well, for senior year. All of it."

Even without looking she knew that he had opened his mouth to say something, so she forged on, "I do. I need you to understand."

He was silent for a bit and then he said, "Okay."

"You may not want to talk about it anymore. But there isn't any moving on. At least, not yet. I wish I could just put it in the past and say that it's just the past. Truth is, that's what I've been trying to do and it doesn't work. It's what I always want to do and it's never worked. I haven't thought about it, or about us, for years, because it's just too complicated. But if we want to make this," she gestured vaguely, "work, whatever this is, I have to reason that out. We're all about the past; that's what makes us, us." As she said it, she played with his fingers that were laid on her and he gave a slight smile. "It's why I'm here right now."

She closed her eyes briefly before continuing. "When I found out I was pregnant, I felt cursed. I had already decided that sleeping with you that night was a mistake." Logan frowned and wriggled uncomfortably, but Veronica continued undeterred, "A mistake. You and I were completely unpredictable, always one step away from complete catastrophe. And catastrophe was really what I wanted to avoid when I was trying to lead a normal life, to get my school work done, to graduate and get a job and get the hell out of Neptune someday. And then I, stupidly, couldn't resist you. My own instincts betrayed me. And then I woke up with a killer hangover, but a clear head and realized that I had to get out of there before I heard your voice, because if I did, I might come back again. I was afraid of that. Of what that might lead to.

"And then there was that horrible moment when I realized I had missed my period for a week and the pregnancy test came up positive. All of a sudden everything looked different. I had a choice to make, and I knew what I would choose, but I couldn't. Not alone. But, I felt like if I told you, I'd be shackled to you forever. We were already so mixed up together that untangling myself enough to survive was a challenge. The knowledge of potential co-parenthood was not something I wanted to discuss with you, my ex-boyfriend whom I was trying very hard to forget, about whom it was very hard to feel indifferent. I just wanted everything to go away and leave me alone, but that was obviously impossible.

"I told Wallace. He said I should tell you, he insisted, he said he would tell you himself. I swore him to secrecy. I couldn't and wouldn't allow my dreams to fly out the window then and there. I didn't think you would demand that I give up my future for an unborn child; but I did think that if I spoke to you about it, if I acknowledged the reality of my situation, that I might not be able to go through with the abortion. That I would leave realism behind. I was frightened of anyone and anything that might tip the scale towards an unwanted and uncontrolled future.

"I ended up telling Mac, too, and she leant me much needed moral support. She took me to the clinic and comforted me that I had made the correct and only decision. That I don't regret for a moment. I shudder at the thought of me now being the mother of a five-year-old child. Everything else was immature, but characteristic. I ran away from the truth, from the consequences, and from you. And that was unforgivable.

"I never gave us a chance. I never wanted to. I couldn't bear to trust you and I couldn't bear to be vulnerable. That was why I couldn't be around you all of senior year. It wasn't until you left, so abruptly, that I even realized how much you were essential to me. How just knowing you were around made me feel more complete. I don't know if I've changed at all since then, but I," Veronica gulped, "I have missed you."

For the first time in her seemingly endless monologue, Veronica turned to look at Logan. His eyes were filled with sorrow and pity, but chiefly longing. He pulled her to him, saying, "Veronica…" He kissed her forehead tenderly. "I missed you, too." He held her for several minutes as they sat without speaking. Wordlessly, his embrace was saying, "I understand. I forgive you. Just let me in."

And she was thinking, _Oh, please, don't let us fuck this up._

* * *

Lunch was pretty uneventful. Dick did insist on repeatedly making allusions to what Logan and Veronica could possibly have been busy with earlier. To shut him up, Logan leaned over to Veronica and kissed her thoroughly, despite Dick's dramatic protests. "Dude, why do you have to make me feel like such a third wheel? This is not the treatment the Dickster is accustomed to."

"Oh?" Logan said, "I can think of a few times…usually after you start referring to yourself as the Dickster."

"Come on, dude, you know the chicks dig it." He looked at Veronica for confirmation but she just raised her eyebrows incredulously.

"Remember when there were those hot girls you said were totally 'ready to threesome with you' and then you were, well, just the third wheel…" Logan said it with a mischievous smile.

Dick glared at Logan. "That was one time."

Logan winked at Veronica and held up two fingers. "Okay, twice, but there was also that time with those Bolivian twins…" Dick started. He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "And Miranda…"

"Okay, so, Dick, how is the producing business going for you?" Veronica said, changing the topic decidedly before being forced to hear about any of Dick's conquests.

Momentarily distracted from one of his favorite topics, Dick replied, "Oh, pretty good. You know, when my stars are behaving themselves." He punched Logan on the arm. "This one is always giving me trouble. His movies still sell though. Still don't get why he's so popular though. I mean, he had none of the Dickster's charm." He turned to Logan. "Oh, and by the way, dude, did you call Joe back? He seemed like he kinda needed to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd just let him stew for a while. It's good for him to suffer a bit, you know. I was thinking of escaping to the beach with Ronniekins." He looked over to her for her approval.

She nodded. "I'll be down in five." Logan kissed her cheek before she left and Dick made gagging noises.

"Young love," She heard Dick mutter disgustedly as she climbed the stairs. Veronica smiled to herself.

The beach was beautiful in the afternoon light. The sand glowed diffusely as they walked together, hand in hand. Each thought his or her own thoughts as they watched the waves and kicked the sand idly.

Then Veronica spoke up. "It's weird to just be able to look at you after so long," Veronica said, inspecting him.

"And what do you think? Does the movie star hotness still make you swoon?"

"Not nearly as much as the overwhelming modesty," Veronica grinned, "That's how I can tell it's still the Logan Echolls I knew so well. Otherwise I would just be blinded by the overwhelming glamour of your lifestyle."

"Don't I know it," Logan said, self-satisfied. They both plopped down on the sand after their short walk.

It was Logan's turn to inspect her thoroughly. Under his piercing gaze, Veronica felt her clothes being peeled off of her, figuratively speaking. "You're so beautiful," he said softly, forgetting the snark for a moment. Veronica just looked at him, his raw emotion hovering just below the surface of his lucid brown eyes. She couldn't say what her own eyes were signaling back. She leaned in to kiss him, his eyes blurring out of focus as she got too close. Their connected lips communicated better than their words ever were allowed to.

And then they heard a "click". They broke apart. And a "click, click, click, click". Logan leapt up, searching for the owner of the camera that had disturbed the quiet of the beach. Veronica covered her face, as Logan headed threateningly toward the black telephoto lens that he spotted. Somehow, the thankfully lone paparazzo sensed that he was not wanted and after getting a few more shots, ran off to his car and drove off with a squealing of tires.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," was all Logan could say, running his hands through his hair anxiously.

Veronica was still sitting on the sand, hugging her knees. She didn't quite know what to feel. _This was bound to happen. This is Logan Echolls. But, now I'm going to be splashed all of the weekly gossip magazines. Branded a slut and a whore for taking up with Logan so soon after Olivia. Or my whole history with Logan will be dug up all over again. God, and I haven't even told anyone at home about me and Logan and this…thing. My dad is going to be so pissed._

Logan walked over to her and stretched out a hand to help her up. "We should probably get out of here. I don't know how they do it, but with those guys, when one knows, they all know, as much as they might like to get an exclusive."

Logan looked at Veronica's far from thrilled expression. "Look, Veronica, it's a hazard that goes with my job. I hate it, but there's nothing I can do, except try to avoid it. I didn't want to get you mixed up in it, but it's who I am now." Her face was still stony. "If it makes you feel better, he probably wasn't even close enough to get your face. You'll just be some anonymous blonde."

"Well, doesn't that make me feel a hell of a lot better! I mean, being your anonymous blonde is such an honor."

"Why do you have to get like this, Veronica? You know that's not what it's like. I mean, I thought you wouldn't _want_ to be recognized. This constant publicity, this is who I am, this is my life. If you don't like it, leave." He paused. "But, wait, does Veronica want me to "change" so I am worthy of her?" Logan managed to imbue even the air quotes of "change" with biting scorn.

His bitterness managed to wake her up to her own insensitivity. "Logan, I'm sorry." He looked at her, surprised by her own quick admission of culpability. As they walked towards the car, she continued. "I've just had such bad experiences with publicity… I don't know how to deal, really. And I a little scared of what the exposure will do to us. If I stay, I can't just be an anonymous blonde forever. All of our history, all of our past, will be everywhere, and I don't know if I can face it. But I guess we just have to see how it goes. For now."

He reached over to hold her hand, but his mind was still absorbed by the words _"If I stay…"_ He couldn't help but think of the other unsaid possibility: _If I don't…_

* * *

Again, a truce seemed to reign. Logan went off to his room to talk to Joe and Veronica was alone again. She lay on her bed examining the tiny cracks in the cream-painted ceiling. What she really should do was to warn her friends about her and Logan. Or at least tell them. It was hard to decide what she should do though because she didn't even know herself what was between her and Logan. Veronica didn't know why any little thing seemed to provoke her, but she seemed to have to stop herself from falling head over heels. Veronica's head was a little too prone to get out of her control when Logan was around.

As Veronica was holding her phone, still debating what to say to everyone back in Neptune, her phone rang. Norm. Again.

"Hey, V, have time to talk now?" His voice sounded like he was only just hold back laughter.

"I guess. What do you want?"

"You don't know? And I thought you were pretty close to genius levels."

"Spit it out, Norm." Veronica was not particularly eager to have this conversation.

"You. With Logan Echolls. Cover story. Exclusive. Do you need it spelled out any more?" His voice was still tinged with slight amusement.

Veronica said nothing. "With photos by you of course," Norm continued.

"What makes you think I know anything about Logan Echolls?"

"Oh, come off it, V. Firstly, I know you know him 'cause you went to high school together, secondly, you think I don't recognize our cover star's voice, even when he just says "no comment" and when he is coincidentally addressed as "Logan"? Thirdly, the gossip is spreading like wildfire that some paparazzo caught the previously heartbroken Logan Echolls with some unknown hot blonde chick, and the pic is going to be an Us Weekly exclusive. Now tell me these things don't add up to you getting it on with the sexy, recently single actor known as Logan Echolls."

"Okay," Veronica said grudgingly, "There may be a tiny bit of truth to your allegations. Now what do you want?"

"We want to make the interview with Logan all about you two. Heartbroken star is good, but now that he's been caught consoling himself elsewhere, an exclusive with you two is even better. Besides, you're relatively photogenic," Veronica rolled her eyes, "and everyone loves a love story. Especially with the whole childhood sweethearts angle. Plus, giving us the details is better than anything a gossip mag will dig up about you. I've talked to Logan's people and I can't say that he's too thrilled about the prospect, but I'm sure you can twist him around your little finger, if you know what I mean."

"Norm, I really don't think this is a good idea at all. I'm not particularly eager to have my personal life all over your magazine and I'm sure Logan doesn't either."

"Look, these are the hazards of dating an actor. You can't escape it. Besides, you already owe me for not cluing me in to the whereabouts of our cover subject and letting some paparazzo get a pic that will destroy any interest in the interview we already have. Think about your job for thirty seconds, alright? I mean, you don't want to have to only live off your boyfriend's money forever. Okay, I got to go, think about it and get back to me." Norm hung up precipitously.

The threat in his last words frustrated Veronica. She _had_ forgotten about her job, how working for Vanity Fair was her big break, her photography ambitions. Logan showed up and she just forgot everything. And now she had to pick up the pieces. Her real life was catching up to her again and she had to reconcile it with Logan's. Again, Veronica felt paralyzed with indecision. _Is it fair to ask Logan to do me a favour? Is he someone I want to have such a debt to? Am I ready to share my life story with the however many subscribers to Vanity Fair? Can I deal with the spotlight, the questions, the past? This decision is necessary for Logan and me, but I never thought it would be so soon. Naturally, a little time to settle in would not be afforded to us. Thanks, Norm, you're a real pal!_

Half an hour later, Veronica knocked on Logan's door.

"Come in," he called. She entered to see him with papers spread all over the bed.

"Are you busy?" she said, looking at the clutter.

"Is Veronica Mars afraid to interrupt the work of one ne'er-do-well Logan Echolls? That can only mean one thing: she has something she doesn't want to ask. I remember that 'I'd rather be making out with a broken bottle' face fondly."

"It was 'I'd rather be spelunking', gosh." She hopped up on the bed next to him, trying to avoid bending the papers.

He moved them into a messy pile. "A new script," he said gesturing at the pile. Veronica nodded. Logan looked at her. "Okay, spill, Veronica, what is it?"

"It's about the Vanity Fair thing. Norm called me and, well, he wants, he wants the both of us to do the interview." Logan narrowed his eyes but said nothing. "I know how you hate people prying into your life and how you don't want anyone knowing about the past and everything and your father or talking about it, but, Logan, I just don't know what to do. I—"

Logan cut her off. "I know. Norm has talked to Joe, too. And to me. Look, Veronica, this interview is part of my job. I understand that this 'prying' is a necessary evil." He paused to collect his thoughts. "I _have_ changed a little in the last four years. I've grown up a bit, I think. I have come to terms with the trade-offs of my career and my life. If I'm living off my tragedies, I have to talk about them, sometimes. It's just not fair that you had to get involved… On my own I can handle it, but forcing you into the spotlight like that is just not something I want to do. At all." He looked to see her reaction to his words.

"I have to do it, Logan. My career depends on it, and it's all I have, really." Her voice was as cool and practical as she could make it.

His jaw tightened. "It's all my fault. You didn't have to get involved." He crumpled a sheet of paper forcefully.

"Logan." Veronica moved closer to him. "We are who we are. We just have to deal with whatever comes our way. You can't protect me from this, or from everything. I can choose, and I've chosen to step into your world. For now. And I wouldn't miss out on this for the world." She moved in to kiss him and his response was fervent. They managed to send the papers crashing down to the floor and neither gave the mess a second thought.

"Mmmm, I guess I wouldn't either," Logan murmured when he finally came up for breath.

* * *

**Yeah, so, tell me what you think. Press that nice review button. Do your thing. Thanks for reading, pumpkins. **


	10. Spotted

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: R, definitely R and maybe verging on NC-17. **

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,098**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: Hey, guys, I'm not dead. This should probably make you happy. I'm really, really sorry I haven't been updating and that it seemed like I dropped off the planet, but I just started my first semester of college, so it's taking up kind of a lot of my time. So I will try to keep updating, but they will definitely be more frequent around break times. Thanks for all of you who reviewed and read, you are the greatest. Special thanks to Ashqua for inspiring me. Sorry this chapter isn't that long, I'll try to make it longer next time.**

* * *

The phone rang raucously. Veronica closed her eyes tightly.

The phone rang again.

Veronica groaned, turned over and grabbed the phone. _Wallace. I didn't know it was going to be this fast._ She sat up, croaking out a sleepy "Hello?"

"Veronica Mars. Could you possibly explain why there is a picture of my BFF on the cover of Us Weekly magazine kissing Logan Echolls?"

_It took 24 hours for the photo to go viral. Everyone wanted to know who the girl he was kissing was and entire websites were taken over with predictions. No one yet had her identified, but she knew it was only a matter of time before someone guessed or leaked the truth. And it, whatever it was, would be announced in the next issue of Vanity Fair for all the world to scrutinize. If Veronica wanted to continue the ascent of her rising photography career. Or if she wanted to stay in Logan's life. Having returned to the city, Veronica didn't know what she wanted. Except that she didn't want to try to explain to Wallace something inexplicable. And that Wallace hadn't spoken to her dad._

"What made you think it was me?"

"Blonde, petite, kissing Logan Echolls. Doesn't even take your super-sleuth powers."

"Hey, I've heard there've been many who fit that description. That proves nothing."

"Come on, I'm your best friend. I can recognize even your _blurry_ profile. Besides, you were wearing a blue and white striped shirt that I have seen you wear several times before and your unmistakable messenger bag was sitting next to you. What do you say to that?" Wallace sounded smug.

"You have learned well, my apprentice. Perhaps soon you will surpass the master. What were you doing with an Us Weekly anyway? Don't tell me you subscribe just for those shirtless Matthew McConaghey photos."

"I… I just happened to have a copy. That I happened to pick up on the supermarket check out line. Because I thought it was the one with bikini photos of Jessica Alba. And then I saw you. And him. Don't you even try to get me to forget my original question with this focus on me. You were doing something you swore you would never do again which was coincidentally documented on a celebrity gossip magazine. Care to explain?"

Veronica sighed. "It's complicated."

_Yes, she was avoiding answering the question properly. But how could she answer a question she didn't know the answer to. She, too, was a little afraid of how Wallace would judge her. She didn't know how she judged herself._

_She had woken up the previous morning among the tousled, 600-count sheets of Logan's bed. She turned over and watched his slack, sleeping face, the picture of unconscious peace as his chest rose and fell evenly. So briefly, she had felt blissful, until her inner alarm sounded, screaming Danger, Danger, Danger. She rolled out of bed, gathered her things together in her room upstairs and changed into her clothes. She called for a cab to take her to the train station. When she returned to Logan's room, he was awake and looking out the window, in only his boxers. "Logan," she said._

"_Veronica," he said, turning towards her._

"_Logan, I have to go back to the city."_

_He looked at her, blank and silent._

"_I have to get back to my real life. It's been fun…" she trailed off as she realized how inappropriate her word choice was. Logan raised his eyebrows. "Okay, not exactly fun, but I can't exactly think of the correct word to describe it right now. Anyways, I have to go back."_

"_Okay." His face was impassive. _

"_Okay?" Veronica couldn't help letting out her surprise at his lack of objections. _

_He shrugged and motioned to the window he had been looking out of. "Your cab's here," he said dryly._

"_Oh." She swallowed and bit her lip. "Well, I'll see you around. Bye." She turned to start to walk away. _

"_Call me," he said softly._

_She paused and nodded almost imperceptibly. Then she left. As taxi pulled away, she looked up at Logan's window. When he saw her looking at him, he saluted mockingly. She looked away from him and turned back to her phone. _

_On the train she stared at the dreary day outside. The sky was overcast, but bright, committed to neither rain nor shine, ambivalent. The mid-morning train was not a popular one, as it was a little late for a commuter train, so she had the privilege of solitude._

_Unfortunately, a couple stops along, a giggling group of teenage girls came in. It was a Wednesday, but they must have had the day off for some reason or were cutting school to come to New York. For reasons Veronica could not even begin to fathom, they decided to sit in the foursome across from her. She glared at them, but they were occupied enough with themselves not to notice. She tried to ignore them with all her might and increasingly higher volume on her iPod, and it worked quite well until she heard "Logan Echolls". And she saw a magazine being waved. One of them held it open for the others and coincidentally gave Veronica an excellent view of the front cover. A cover which has a giant picture of Logan from a red carpet event, next to a blown up but blurry picture of the two of them kissing with the headline "Logan Echolls: Moving on with Mystery Woman?" Veronica frowned, and tried to inspect the photo more closely while simultaneously being subtle. At least you can't tell it's me unless you really know me, she thought gratefully. And then crossly grabbed her stuff to move to a different car._

"Veronica, 'it's complicated' is not an answer and you know it. You have some 'splainin' to do and I suggest you do it fast before I go showing this picture to your dad without any kind of explanation behind it."

Veronica sighed, again. _And I'm still in my pajamas. Not really the attire of clear thinking. _"Fine, Wallace, fine. It's just kind of a long story…"

* * *

Downtown, Logan's apartment looked like a tornado had blown through it. Since he had been out of town, his cleaning lady Helen had cleared up all the empty bottles and other paraphernalia of depression, but the first thing Logan did when he returned was to take out everything belonging to Olivia, given to him by her or liked by her. Her clothes he'd had Helen pack up and ship to her, but there were all sorts of other pieces of her still hanging round. He had put a box in the middle of the room for everything to be thrown into, but his carelessness of aim had made it more of a pile. Books, bowls, DVDs, and her weird health foods were strewn about, the detritus of his life with her. He turned up his music on high, the beat pounding throughout the room, in part to drown out his thoughts.

The truth was, he was angry, but he didn't know exactly what about. Olivia seemed distant, and even as he was trying to expunge her from his life, it was not the destruction of her things, but the idea of cleaning here out which most energized him. There was still resentment bubbling, but it had been forced to a back burner with Veronica's sudden and bewildering reappearance in his mind and in his life.

Her exit had been typical, the sudden retreat when things seemed to be getting out of her control. As weird, delicious, and sometimes painful as those few days had been, they had felt right to Logan. Like everything was finally fitting together. He still had no idea how Veronica had felt about it. Her bolt could have been either the signal of her realization that she had taken an unwanted and idiotic detour from her real life or that she was frightened of falling back into an unknown and unknowable future with him, against her better judgment. Or she just had some thinking to do. He couldn't deny that he had been reminded how much he adored her soft, yielding skin, her unique scent he once characterized as "marshmallows and promises" and how attuned he was to her particular desires. He was grinning about it in remembrance, when there was knock on the door. Logan frowned. He hadn't been expecting anyone. Whoever it was knocked again.

Logan opened the door to find _Olivia_ on his doorstep. She marched abruptly past him into the room. "I can't say I was expecting you. Ever, actually," Logan said acidly, "Why don't you just make yourself at home?" He opened his arms in a parody of welcome.

She looked around. "It's nice the way you treated my stuff. So mature," Olivia said.

"Who needs maturity when you've got girlfriends who cheat on you and make a porno out of it?" Logan kicked some of the DVDs closer to the box. "I mean, I did send you your clothes, when it's been pretty clear to most of the computer-owning world that you don't really need them."

"Whatever, forget it, Logan. We need to talk about this." She held up a copy of Us Weekly. "My people have already been bombarded with questions about this and I was the last person to know."

"I'm supposed to tell my ex everything and everyone I do after her? That's an odd definition of ex."

"Well, before I get blindsided! You know how they are."

"Yeah, I kinda do. You seem to keep forgetting the earlier events of this week. Does memory loss often accompany sluttiness? I should make a note of it."

Olivia glared at him. "Who is this skank anyway?" She waved the magazine.

"Skank? I'm afraid this is an instance of the pot calling the teapot black."

"That's not the saying."

"Right, because you're the pot, who is black, calling the teapot, who is white, black. I'd think the metaphor was obvious, but I guess I must have always been the brains of our relationship."

"You're an ass, Logan, you know that?" Olivia crossed her arms.

"So I've heard. You probably heard it before you dated me, too, but I guess I was famous enough for you to get over it."

"You still won't tell me who she is? Do I know her?" Olivia's tone was accusatory.

"You didn't come here for any professional reason. You just came because you wanted to know who I'd replaced you with, so you could start tearing her down. Well, she _can_ handle it, but I think it'd just be better for you to go back to middle school which is where you evidently just came from. Wait, didn't you just say _I_ was the immature one? Again, an odd case of mistaken identity. Or projection."

"Well, I hope you two are happy together. And I can't wait to meet her! I'm sure she's something special, given how fast you moved."

"Don't worry, you'll get to meet her soon enough. In fact, we'll see you at the premiere on Tuesday. You can have a red carpet catfight, if you want. And will Conor be your date? Or do you have someone else as well that is on the side of your guy on the side."

"Goodbye, Logan," Olivia said as she slammed the apartment door behind her.

Logan looked around at the room and let out a sigh of relief. Then he went to the window and leant out, shouting, "I guess you don't need this shit anymore then? Great! I was planning to get rind of it anyway!" to the retreating figure trying to hail a taxi.

Logan collapsed onto his couch. He massaged his head, which was throbbing. _Oh shit,_ he thought, _I hope Veronica wants to go the premiere. Or that she wants to see me again. I guess we'll have to talk about what we are to each other, at some point. Or she'll disappear and change her name. There are even odds. _

Logan's phone rang. He picked it up, saying, "Hey, Joe, what's up?"

"Oh, I'm just calling to remind you about the VF interview tomorrow morning, so you are mentally prepared. I just called Veronica to remind her too."

"Oh, great, Joe. Thanks. Bye." Logan hung up.

_And I completely forgot about that. I guess we will be forced to have some sort of conversation about it. With some reporters. And photographers. I have seldom been this little excited for an interview. Excellent._

* * *

**I hope this is satisfactory for now. I know, it wasn't that long, but it was something. Please tell me what to think, 'cause every review gives me more reason to update! Thanks. **


	11. Not Again

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: R, definitely R and maybe verging on NC-17. **

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 1,605**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note:I know this chapter is shorter than my previous ones, but I hope you guys still like me after a year plus hiatus. I wrote this chapter in 2 hours because I was reading your guys' reviews and I felt bad for letting you down! So I hope you like this chapter and where this story is going.  
**

Veronica just wanted to get out of there. Her boobs were starting to fall out of her strapless dress, her feet ached in her heels and she felt woozy from the champagne, a half-full glass of which she was still clutching as an excuse to do something with her hands. She saw Logan across the room, chatting with Alec Baldwin and a couple women she didn't recognize. One of whom kept touching Logan on the arm when she was speaking to him and punctuating the conversation every few minutes with her bubbly laugh.

Veronica tried to remember how she got there. She had gone up to Logan's the day of the interview, just so they could prepare, take stock, and maybe make out.

"_So, we need to get our story straight." Veronica entered Logan's loft unceremoniously, bearing two cups of Starbucks._

_Logan looked barely conscious, his hair completely disordered. "And a good morning to you, too." He grabbed one of the coffees_

_Veronica gave his pajamas the once over. "It's 9:30. We have to be at the studio at 11. I felt like maybe we should have a brief discussion before we get all sharey with the American public about our prior lives together." _

_Veronica walked to his couch and sat down. Logan shuffled after her, yawning and collapsed on the other side of the sofa. "Drink up", she said pushing his coffee cup towards his mouth. He obeyed gratefully, and then blinked his eyes a few times. Veronica watched him, unable to prevent a smile from creeping onto her face. _

_Logan finally seemed to get his bearings. "Why are you here again?" was his first coherent response. When he added, " 'Cause you know I don't usually do booty calls in the morning…" Veronica knew he had woken up properly. She ignored his suggestive comment. "We have an interview today. Remember?" She spoke slowly, spacing out the words as if he was unusually slow on the uptake. _

_Logan yawned and spread himself out. "Oh, that. Can I go back to bed? I'm sure it won't be anything too unexpected…"_

What she did not expect was his sudden invitation to go to his premiere. _Plans, _she thought, _already?_ Veronica hadn't thought beyond their interview, beyond the next 24 hours. Plans meant the future, and as both of them knew so well, the future could be frighteningly uncertain. But how could she say no when they were supposed to give an interview at Vanity Fair that day, when she didn't want to slam the door in his face, when there was no _reason_ why she shouldn't go? So here she was, at an event full of strangers, faces familiar from magazines and a man she might not know anymore.

She and Logan had started the evening together; he had been attentive, eager for her approval. The movie had been decent for its kind and she'd laughed and gasped at the right moment. She dealt with the weird phenomenon of seeing Logan in two places at once by ignoring his burning gaze upon her. At the afterparty, they had somehow gotten separated in the way of parties. She had started speaking to two young actresses while Logan was swept away to be introduced to some producer who wanted to chat about a possible new project. The actresses were nice, mostly, but a bit too inquisitive for Veronica's liking. She wasn't quite ready to discuss her uncertain emotions with party acquaintances. They soon ran out of topics of mutual interest when they discovered that Veronica barely knew anyone there—they excused themselves to refill their glasses and caught up with some obviously better informed comrades. Veronica chatted with a few other people, but soon grew tired of the questions about herself and Logan; she had fielded them at the interview, but she didn't need the constant polite questions that felt to her like prying in an atmosphere where she felt sure she did not fit in.

_It had been sweltering underneath the lights as Logan and Veronica posed together for the photographer. Veronica was itching to get out from the spotlight and get behind a camera herself. She had never kicked the habit of shying away from attention when it felt nonessential. She had put off thinking about the consequences of this article, as she still needed to keep herself together for the interview afterwards. It was strange to know she was nearly voluntarily facing the kind of scrutiny she so detested, and answering questions she never wanted to be asked again. Again, the past refused to stay where it belonged._

"_So you guys are really like high school sweethearts, is that right?" their interviewer Amanda asked, pushing her stylish glasses back up her nose. Veronica opened her mouth, but Logan placed a hand on her knee and cut in, saying, "Yeah, that's right. We just recently caught up again and realized how much you still share with the people you went to school with. Don't you agree that that's something special?" He smiled winningly at Amanda, who smiled in return. Veronica almost rolled her eyes at his obvious flirting, but caught herself at the last minute. _You only have to be earnest for another 30 minutes_, she reminded herself, _Keep it together_._

_When the interview finally ended, Norm came over to thank them. Veronica again had to squeeze out an insincere smile at the man who made her parade her feelings in front of him and the rest of the VF readership. And she had been so grateful for her big break just a few days ago. It felt like years ago. Logan put his hand on the small of her back as he escorted her down to her cab. She couldn't help but be hyper-aware of his touch. The artificiality of the interview only made her more uncertain of what they were to each other. All she knew was that "high school sweethearts" was far, far away from an apt description. She almost laughed at all the tumult that completely failed to be covered by that stupid cliché. Before he put her in her cab, he kissed her cheek, saying, "I'll pick you up at 7 on Tuesday. I know you'll look beautiful."_

_As she drove away, she quashed the butterflies in her stomach by thinking, _SHIT. I need a new dress.

And there she stood, crumpling the most beautiful dress she could find that sort of fit her budget. So maybe she splurged a little—Logan's face as he looked her over when she opened her apartment door made it worth it.

But now he was out of her eyesight and she was fiddling with her champagne flute. She set it on the nearest table and made for the ladies' room. All the champagne had taken its toll on her bladder and she was relieved to see that there was no line outside the door.

She was washing her hands and trying to get her hair to look presentable when she noticed something odd in one of the stalls reflected behind her. She turned and saw someone's legs sticking out as if its occupant had been vomiting into the toilet and passed out. _People should really have a buddy if they're going to go puking in a public restroom_, Veronica thought as she pushed open the stall door.

She recognized death before she recognized Olivia. She has never seen the living woman, only her picture in the tabloids. And here she was, dead. As much as she had tried to forget the many dead bodies she had had the misfortune to come into contact with, there was something so unforgettable about how _inanimate_ they were, with their gruesome resemblance to a living, breathing person. She screamed. She couldn't say if it was from fear or horror, but she certainly couldn't control the sound coming out of her throat. Next, she managed to open her clutch with her trembling fingers and fish out her cell phone.

"911 operator. What is your emergency?"

* * *

Logan was distracted from his only mildly entertaining conversation by the commotion across the room. He immediately looked for Veronica, over by the large decorative plant where he had seen her last. He excused himself from his companions and tried to find out what the whole thing was about. The fray seemed to center around the women's bathroom, and Logan pushed his way through the crowd. He had learned early in life that where there was smoke there was fire, and where there was fire, more often than not, was his Veronica.

He froze when he saw her standing white-faced outside the door of the bathroom, in a swarm of security personnel. When he met her eyes, she stumbled towards him and threw herself into his arms. He embraced her tightly, and for a moment he couldn't help thinking, _If only the whole night had been like this._ He was shocked back into reality by her quavering voice. "It's Olivia," she said, her voice only just above a whisper, so he had to strain to hear her.

Logan was puzzled and immediately defensive. "Did she do something to you?" he growled.

Veronica looked up into his eyes, an unreadable expression in her eyes. "No. She's—she's dead. I found her. On the bathroom floor. I don't know what happened, Logan, I couldn't do anything, I—"

Logan interrupted her by pulling her still closer and saying, "Shhhh. It'll be okay, it'll be okay." He kissed the top of her head and caressed her shoulder, but all he could think was _Not again. Not again._

**If you still care about this story, please review!****It makes me happy and it makes me write (eventually). I am planning on writing another chapter very soon though_, _so stay tuned!**_  
_


	12. Murdered?

**Title: Decade**

**Pairing: L/V**

**Rating: M**

**Spoilers: All aired episodes. **

**Word Count: 2,215**

**Summary: Future fic. Veronica and Logan think they have moved on with their lives. They both end up in New York, where Logan is an actor and Veronica a photographer. L/V. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, these characters do not belong to me. I have just adopted them for a little while. **

**Author Note: I'm back! Chock full of ideas! I hope you are still into my story after so long :). Enjoy.**

**

* * *

Chapter 13: Murder?**

Veronica waited in the interrogation room, drumming her fingers on the table. It might be the NYPD, but she felt like she was back in the Neptune Sheriff's Department and that Sheriff Lamb was going to walk right through the door. She shivered; Lamb was dead, she was far away from Neptune and Olivia was the victim. It was only a few hours since she had found her body in the bathroom, but replaying it in her head it felt like a barely remembered movie. The door opened and a detective entered, carrying two plastic cups of water. He passed her one and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Veronica simply stared at him expectantly. She wasn't here for pleasantries. He went on, "I'm Detective Lawson. We just want to ask you a few questions about the discovery of the body and your relationship with the deceased in general. You are Veronica Mars, known professionally as V Reynolds, and you reside in the city. Is that correct?"

Veronica nodded. "Yes," she said when the policeman seemed to need a verbal response. _I really don't need this bullshit right now. I wonder if Logan's is such a dipwad?_

"And how did you know the victim?" The interview went on, detailing her brief interaction with Olivia at the Vanity Fair photo shoot and then with her corpse, splayed on the mosaic bathroom floor. Veronica had seen the white powder by her head as told Detective Lawson. She couldn't answer questions about Olivia's drug habit. She hadn't known her that well and she said so.

Exhausted, she just wanted to go home and take a bubble bath. _Too bad I only have a shower that's stingy about the hot water. Square footage in this town is just so damn expensive_. She was relieved that she was not asked about any of the other dead people she had known. She didn't need those ghosts right now to go palling around with her newest dead body.

The tox screen hadn't come back yet, of course, but from the police's questions, it seemed like an open and shut OD. As open and shut as this tabloid drama could be, in any case.

When the detective said, "Thank you Ms. Mars," and stood up, Veronica controlled herself enough not to run out of the room. The numerous questions and the small dank room had given her an acute sense of claustrophobia and she sighed with relief to be in even the only marginally roomier squad room.

She saw Logan sitting on a bench, waiting. Veronica could see the other police people pretending powerfully that they did not have a major Hollywood film star in their midst. Although Veronica could see the furtive looks constantly thrown in his direction, he seemed oblivious, not seeing anything nearer than some sort of invisible cosmic beyond. His hair was casually tousled, going so well with his familiar lost little boy look. Veronica smiled as the scene seemed a little too typical to her.

As Veronica came close, his eyes met hers. "How was the grilling?" He asked softly.

"Oh, you know, feeling medium, medium-rare. You?"

"Definitely well done, maybe a little crispy. Seems that my guy thought my last movie was a piece of shit and was taking the $12.50 he paid for a movie ticket out on me." Logan's smile was so lonely and familiar that she reached out brushed back the unruly hair on the side of his head. He looked surprised at the intimacy of the action.

Veronica sat down on the bench next to him. "Shouldn't you have a lawyer around here somewhere stocking up on billable hours?"

"Indeed. Bob Gerber of Feinstein, Gerber and Loeb is right now in the bathroom and I am here waiting for him. Seems like this time the Echolls name will go on unbesmirched."

"Unbesmirched? Echolls? There is no way you can clean off the grime off that escutcheon. Give it up." Veronica leaned against him. She felt almost giddy. In a police station, she and Logan just seemed so natural together. _Like peanut butter and jelly in a strange, fucked up little sandwich._

Bob Gerber returned and Veronica noted his expensive suit, so different from Cliff's discount ones. She guessed that maybe she and Logan had grown up a little bit since Neptune.

"So, Logan," Gerber rubbed his hands together and looked at him with well-judged solemnity, "It seems like we can get out of here. They might interview you again if new evidence presents itself, but for now it's all cleared up. Let's get you to your hotel."

"Hotel?" Veronica asked as she walked out with them. "Don't you have an apartment?"

Gerber excused himself, citing an engagement elsewhere. Logan ignored him. "Yes, Veronica , I do have an apartment. An apartment currently besieged by both the paparazzi and the police. Joe thought I would be more secure at a five star hotel, however. You know how much they're like home to me, recalling the good old days at the Neptune Grand." Logan paused and looked out at the crowd jostling in the sunlight outside. "Do you want a ride?"

"Well, I—" Her words were swallowed by the rush of people and words and cameras as they opened the doors and stepped into the autumn air. Policemen and bodyguards bundled the two of them into a waiting limousine, past the shouting reporters and paparazzi. They were already in the car before Veronica could catch her breath or finish her sentence. "I guess I'm getting a ride then."

"I guess you are." They drove away from the raucous crowd outside. "Do you want to be dropped back at your apartment, or…" Logan's voice trailed off and he shrugged.

"Or?" Veronica asked.

"Or you can come with me to the Four Seasons." Logan said it plainly, without inflection, but met her eye challengingly.

Veronica broke eye contact and stared at the seatback in front of her, thinking. Then she turned to Logan suddenly. "Is there a bath? And bath bubbles?"

Logan smiled his first genuine smile of the day. "It's a five star hotel. I am a movie star. Of course there is a bath. There may even be a Jacuzzi."

"Okay then," Veronica said.

* * *

Veronica lay in the giant bath, luxuriating in the hot water and the fluffy, jasmine-scented bubbles. The tub was huge; Veronica could entirely submerge herself in its substantial, porcelain depths if she so chose. She couldn't forget the recent tragedy, but she was relaxing into a pleasant dullness of feeling that obscured all thoughts of death and the outside world. _I'd forgotten what it was like_, she thought, _being a part of Logan's life and the giant cushion of privilege that goes with it. In this world, every luxury hotel is a kind of home with the safety and comfort of known and expected amenities. I've reentered the existence where there is nothing so dependable as the inimitable reliability of clean sheets, turndown service and a chocolate on the pillow. And I'm brought into it again by murder._

_Murder?_ She wondered why she had chosen that word. _The police didn't even suggest homicide; nothing made it seem like anything more complex than an overdose. That's what happens to drug addicts, even famous ones. _As her thoughts brought her back to reality, she realized that the water was getting cold and her fingers were looking prune-y; relaxation time seemed to be over. She climbed out of the bath and dried herself on the warm, fluffy towel hanging on a heated towel rack. She saw her clothes lying on the floor where she had climbed out of them. Gathering them up, she thought about putting them on, but folded them instead. Instead, she took down one of the white terrycloth robes that were hanging behind the bathroom door and slipped it on. It was enormous, enveloping her in giant white folds and reaching down beyond her toes.

She pushed the bathroom door open and was hit with a wave of cool air after the steamy atmosphere of the bathroom. She walked into the bedroom and saw Logan, lying on the made bed, fully clothed and asleep. She felt a swell of emotion watching him as he slept, unconscious and vulnerable. _Gosh, you really know how to get a girl, don't you, Logan. You can make me go all mushy just by being your unconscious self_. She lay down on the king size bed next to him. He wiggled at the change in weight on the bed and turned towards her. His eyes opened gingerly. "Veronica?"

"Yes, Logan." she replied.

"Why are you wearing a robe?" He seemed to be waking up gradually.

"It just seemed so snuggly. Do you have a problem with that? I don't see you being able to use both those robes hanging in the bathroom, so I borrowed one." She pouted. "Are you just going to lie here sleeping in the middle of the day?"

Logan rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, well, I haven't really been sleeping that great recently." Both of them looked serious. As Logan became fully awake his expression became mischievous, however. "I think I know why you put on that robe, Veronica," Logan said, moving closer to her.

"Really?" she said, his mouth just centimeters away from hers, his warm breath on her face.

The only reply was a kiss, gentle at first, then stronger as Veronica responded in kind. Veronica's hands went to his hair and his neck, running her fingers through his short, soft locks. Logan slipped his hands to the belt of her robe, untying it and slipping it off and his hands traced around her ass, up her back and to her breasts. When their lips separated and Logan began kissing down her neck and shoulder, Veronica said, "Logan, you know I am way, way more naked right now."

Logan just grinned as she slipped her hands under the edges of his shirt and he undid his pants. "We're working on that, sugarpuss." She slipped the shirt over his head.

"Good," she murmured as their mouths reconnected and her hands travelled down his now bare back, pushing pants and boxers down. "Hope you're not feeling so tired anymore."

"Absolutely not." He positioned himself over her, straddling her hips and looking down on her. "God, you're so beautiful," he said.

Veronica responded by pulling his face down to hers. "How come there's no one like you, Logan?" she breathed.

He looked into her eyes, her pupils so dilated they looked almost black, a dramatic contrast against her white skin and neck and her fair hair. He kissed her nose. "It's because we're two of a kind, sweetheart, always were," he said softly.

She smiled as he closed the gap between them.

* * *

They were recalled out of their blissful stupor by a shrill ringing. Logan rolled over to pick up the hotel phone on the side table. "Hello? Oh, hi Joe, what's up? Yes, I'm fine. Excellent, actually," he said, smiling at Veronica. His face changed at the words on the other line, however. "Friday. Okay. Yes, I have a black suit. Thank you. Goodbye."

He hung up the phone abruptly and collapsed backwards onto the bed. "The funeral's on Friday," he said blankly.

"Oh," was all Veronica could get out. It seemed like all the air in the room had been sucked out. Their different associations with Olivia put up a barrier between her and Logan. It was one that they so recently seemed to be able to breach, however briefly.

"Veronica," Logan said, still staring at the ceiling, "will you come with me? Please?"

Veronica could think of few occasions she would rather miss. And yet, after a few seconds, she said, "Okay, Logan." G_o as your date to your ex-fiancée's funeral? Of course! At least she can't hate me if she's dead. Although luckily her relatives and friends will be there to be able to pick up the slack. At least I have experience as a lightning rod for hatred going for me and Logan will be on my side this time._

_

* * *

_On Thursday morning, every tabloid and newspaper in the country screamed with the biggest celebrity scandal of the year, bigger than sex tapes or weddings or babies: "Olivia Murdered," they cried, one and all, a morbid chorus in print and on the web, finding themselves at millions of breakfasts as salacious food for speculation. Veronica almost fell off her chair when the paper came with her breakfast room service. Somehow deep down she had felt that something was wrong, something didn't make sense, something else was going on with Olivia's death, but the reality of the news was disconcerting. She opened the paper for more details. They were sketchy at best. There had been something suspicious in the toxicology report or the facts of the crime or something. Veronica was having trouble thinking properly. All that was certain was that the police were now investigating this death as a homicide.

She sunk her head into her hands, forgetting about her cooling egg white omelet. She was never one to panic, but as she sat unmoving, Logan still peacefully asleep, a single word emblazoned itself across her brain: _FUCK_.

**A/N: Please review! You know how much it means to me. And if you're also a Buffy fan, it would be awesome if you'd check out my new VM/BtVS crossover called "The Brains and the Brawn." Love you guys.**


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